La Folie à Deux
by LouBlue
Summary: EJami fic. This picks up while Rafe & Sami are in witness protection & both Sami & Nicole are 'pregnant'. This fic comes up with the only possible explanation for EJ's sudden personality change & lack of brains and promptly sets about fixing it.
1. Chapter 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****: **This story kicks off at the end of December of 2008. Sami is pregnant with EJ's baby and Nicole is pregnant with Mr Sandman's baby aka a pillow and Sami and Rafe are still in witness protection. Now as a huge EJ fan it has been very hard for me to watch this once great character that filled the screen and captivated every scene be reduced to a prop for the Nicole hour. Now don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed Nicole's character - just not this version of her that we are currently seeing or indeed the great volume of her that we are currently seeing. I've hated watching Nicole make an idiot out of EJ over and over again while he stands there, head in the clouds and begs for more of the same. *blech!* Now they've got him all bullying and becoming a shouter which he never needed to do to get his point across and I'm not loving that either but mind you it's easier to watch him pinky swearing - he's a DiMera for goodness sake - DiMera's don't pinky swear! The closest they'd ever come to that would be cutting someone's pinky finger off and making them swear!!

But I digress... I do that so be warned...

Basically when I wrote this both his brains and balls had been MIA for a long time and I was just sick of it and I wasn't buying what the writers were shoveling as to how we got there. My EJ, the real EJ was too magnificent, too smart, too on the ball to be unable to tell one woman was pregnant who wasn't meant to be and one wasn't who was meant to be even while he was hugging both of them. Basically they had to make my beloved EJ dumber than dirty to sell the woeful baby switch story line and I've hated every single second of it. I could have lived with EJami being apart but EJ being the worlds only living brain donor... oh no, that's too much to ask of me!

So I took matters into my own hands and came up with this story. Basically this is the only logical explanation for why EJ went from running rings around everyone in Salem to licking light sockets. The other solution would be that obviously EJ had a brain tumour - hence the huge personality change... into no personality what so ever. *waves an angry fist at the writers at DOOL's damning them all for doing this to my favourite character!*

I hope you enjoy it, comments are always welcome and special bonus points if you can work out what is happening before the reveal...

**La Folie à Deux**

(The Madness Shared By Two)

**Prologue**

Sami cowered back in the wardrobe that Rafe had quickly ordered her into, hardly daring to breathe. Her heart hammered away so loudly in her chest that she was sure that everyone within a mile radius could hear it anyway. Heavy footsteps outside the wardrobe stopped her breathing altogether though, especially when they came to a halt in front of where she was hiding. The door of the wardrobe was suddenly ripped open and Sami screamed up at the silhouetted figure.

"Don't hurt my baby!" she cried out frantically, her hands clutching protectively at her heavily swollen belly, "Rafe... Rafe!"

In a moment of blind panic Sami made a rush for her would be assassin and caught him off guard and despite being well built he stumbled back a couple of steps as Sami launched herself at his chest. Sami started to make good her escape, her hand already on the door handle when she heard the sound of a silencer being fired and felt a sudden pain in her shoulder. She gasped loudly and her world tilted wildly before a comforting darkness claimed her.

**Chapter One**

"And what about this one?" asked Nicole, looking at him expectantly, "I think these are lovely too."

"Whatever you think darling," said EJ with a little smile, "I'm sure whichever chinaware you pick out for the wedding will be the very epitome of tastefulness."

"Really?" asked Nicole nervously, "Because I just know that everyone is going to be coming to our wedding and just judging me throughout the whole thing so I want it to be perfect."

"You know it is entirely possible that our friends will come to the wedding simply to wish us well," said EJ with a quirk of his lips to which Nicole sent him a disbelieving look.

"Yeah right," she snorted, "Trust me EJ, I've been in the berg way longer then you and the only _well_ wishing I'm going to be receiving is that people wish me at the bottom of one!"

"You're kind of funny when you're stressed," observed EJ in amusement, "Do you know that?"

"And yet I don't hear myself laughing," said Nicole flatly, "Now are you going to help me with this or not EJ?"

"I'm sorry sweetheart," said EJ apologetically, pressing a kiss to her forehead, "But I have a lot of paperwork to get through that I simply can't put off any longer."

"For your father?" asked Nicole curiously.

"That's right," nodded EJ, scratching his cheek with one long finger.

"How's that going anyway?" she asked him, looking at him intently, "I know you had some reservations in the beginning."

"It's going swimmingly," said EJ easily as he stood up, "You know now that I look back on it I'm not really sure why I was so hesitant in the first place."

He looked down at Nicole then and sent her a warm smile.

"And I guess I have you to thank for encouraging me to do this sweetheart," he told her, "It was clearly the right move. I'm so lucky to have you in my life."

"You bet you are," sniffed Nicole playfully, "And don't you forget it."

"Never," vowed EJ, bending down and stealing a kiss from her.

As he straightened up EJ grimaced, putting a hand to his head.

"Have you got another headache?" asked Nicole in concern.

"Mm," said EJ distractedly.

"That's like the fourth one this week isn't it?" asked Nicole with a frown, "Maybe you should go and see a doctor?"

"I'm fine," said EJ with a dismissive wave of his hand, "The only person I want you to worry about is getting our little one safely into this world darling."

Nicole gave a weak smile at that, swallowing hard and putting a nervous hand on her protruding stomach.

"Besides I'm sure I just need to get a new prescription with my glasses," said EJ easily, "I'll make time to go and see an optometrist. You'll see that will be what it is for sure."

Before Nicole could argue with him the doorbell sounded and EJ smiled down at her.

"Stay there," he told her, "I'll get it."

EJ walked out to the foyer, still rubbing his head. He didn't want to worry Nicole in her delicate condition but these headaches really were becoming troublesome. Perhaps her suggestion of seeing a doctor might not be such an outlandish one after all. Nothing seemed to help with them. EJ tried to shrug it off, opening the door to a surprise visitor.

"Hope," he said with an arched eyebrow, "To what do we owe the pleasure?"

EJ stepped back to let Hope through the door.

"I'm sorry EJ," she said, looking at him very seriously, "But I've got some bad news."

"What kind of bad news?" asked EJ with a frown, feeling his head beginning to throb even more now.

"It's Sami," she said quietly, "The safe house she was in appears to have been discovered and she and the man assigned to protect her have gone missing."

"But... but I just talked to her," said EJ shakily, this being the last news he'd been expecting, "On the webcam on Christmas day."

"I know," said Hope, putting a sympathetic hand on his arm, "You have to know that everything is being done to find Sami."

"How could this happen?" asked EJ faintly, "I don't understand how this could happen. She was meant to be in protective custody!"

EJ's voice was starting to become raised then as the news sunk in.

"EJ I promise you, every possible thing is being done to find her," said Hope earnestly, putting both her hands on EJ's arms now.

EJ looked down at Hope's sincere face and felt a sudden wave of comfort at her touch and instinctively reached up to cup her elbows in a light touch.

"Thank you," he said roughly.

"What's wrong?" asked Nicole with a frown, suddenly appearing in the hallway and seeing EJ and Hope standing together in an almost embrace, "What's going on?"

"The safe house Sami was in has been discovered," said EJ shortly.

"Is Sami dead?" asked Nicole, looking between the two of them.

"She's missing," said Hope tersely, not liking the vaguely hopeful tone in the other woman's voice.

"Oh," said Nicole, looking at EJ to see his reaction to all this but he still looked a little stunned, "That's... that's too bad."

"Very convincing," said Hope in annoyance.

"Well it's no secret that Sami and I aren't best friends," shrugged Nicole unapologetically, "So don't expect me to tear up just to play the part."

"Nicole Samantha is the mother of my son," said EJ tightly, glaring at her as his head suddenly felt like it was going to explode.

"What is going on here?" asked Stefano loudly from the top of the stairs.

EJ grimaced and looked up at his father as he came down the stairs.

"Samantha has gone missing," he said tightly, not finding it any easier to get the words out no matter how many times he said it.

"But this is terrible news!" said Stefano, sounding outraged, "What is being done to find my grandson's mother eh Detective Brady? I demand to know."

"Everything that can be done is being done," said Hope with a frown at the way Stefano was intent on throwing his weight around, "Sami is my niece and you can rest assure that every available police officer on the Salem PD is working on this."

"Is that meant to make us feel better?" asked Nicole skeptically, "No offence but you guys kind of suck."

"Nicole!" scowled EJ, putting his hand to his head, "You're not helping!"

"I'm sorry," said Nicole quickly, going to his side and putting her arm around him, "I open my mouth sometimes and things just fall out. I didn't mean anything by it. Look, you're obviously in pain, why don't you come and sit down and I'll get you some pain killers?"

"EJ?" Hope gave him a quizzically concerned look at that.

"Just a little headache," said EJ dismissively but started to let Nicole lead him away anyway, "Hope you'll let me know as soon as you hear anything won't you?"

"Of course EJ," she said quickly, "And try not to worry."

She looked at Stefano then as Nicole walked with EJ into the living room.

"I'll be going then," she said shortly, not having a whole lot to say to the likes of Stefano DiMera.

"Of course," said Stefano smoothly, walking with her to the door, "Thank you for delivering such difficult news personally Detective. As my son said, will you please keep us... how do you say... in the loop... with this matter? And if there is anything we can do to help, then you must call on us. The DiMera's have many resources."

"Don't I know it," muttered Hope but nodded her agreement.

Nicole sat close to EJ on the sofa, a concerned hand on his knee.

"Please won't you see a doctor EJ?" she begged him worriedly, "You can't go on like this."

"My future daughter in law is right Elvis," said Stefano, walking into the room after seeing Hope off.

"Will you two please stop buzzing around me?!" asked EJ in aggravation and then grimaced, "Sorry."

EJ took Nicole's hand then and put the other to his face as he rested his elbow on his knee.

"I'm sorry," he repeated tiredly, "I don't mean to snap. It's just the news about Samantha caught me off guard."

"I know," said Nicole, looking away quickly, "It's always Sami isn't it?"

"Nicole," said EJ with a heavy sigh and tightened his grip on her hand reassuringly, "I love you, very much but you have to allow me to be concerned about the welfare of the mother of my son."

"Is that all it is?" asked Nicole tremulously, looking very vulnerable all of a sudden.

"Sweetheart Samantha was my past," said EJ, trying yet again to reassure her, "You and this baby are my future. I wish you would trust in our love."

"I'm not so great with the whole trust thing," admitted Nicole, "I'm not very used to it."

"You can trust me Nicole," said EJ firmly, "I love you, we're going to be married soon and that is all you need to worry yourself about, I promise."

EJ leant over and kissed her then and gave her a smile.

"I'm going to get some Tylenol," he announced, "And then I think it's probably time that we both got some sleep, it's getting late."

"Okay," said Nicole and watched as EJ went into the kitchen to get his painkillers.

"I'm worried about him," she said fretfully, looking over at Stefano.

"Don't," said Stefano, putting a calming hand on her shoulder as she remained seated on the sofa, "I will have Rolf attend to my son. Now you should do as Elvis suggested and gets some rest Nicole. We have business to be taken care of tomorrow you and me eh?"

"Right," nodded Nicole and they shared a look, "I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"But of course," said Stefano with an inclination of his head.

Nicole headed up the stairs to her bedroom, passing Rolf on the way. Rolf joined Stefano in the living room.

"Elvis' headaches persist," Stefano informed him.

"I told you of my concernz Stefano," tutted Rolf, "I vill need to run zome testz."

"Alright, alright," said Stefano with an annoyed wave of his hand, "Come, he is in the kitchen."

When the two men walked into the kitchen it was to find EJ leaning over the kitchen sink, obviously in pain.

"My son," said Stefano, quickly going up to him and putting a hand on his back, "This is not good. Let Rolf have a look at you eh?"

EJ frowned, eyeing Rolf suspiciously. He only knew of a small amount of Rolf's past antics but what he did know didn't make EJ exactly keen to agree to any kind of examination from the man.

"I think I'd rather see a real doctor Father," said EJ flatly, "No offence Rolf."

"But I am a real doctor Elvis," protested Rolf.

"This man has saved my life many times over," said Stefano by way of endorsement, "I think it is important to let Rolf examine you my son."

"I'll make an appointment tomorrow," said EJ with a shake of his head, not desperate enough yet to submit to Rolf's ministrations.

Rolf and Stefano exchanged glances then behind EJ's back as he started towards the door.

"As you wish my son," said Stefano to his back, nodding at Rolf, "I was only trying to help."

"I know and I appreciate that Father but owww!"

EJ had been in the process of turning around and thanking his father for his concern when there had been this sudden sharp pain in the back of his neck. EJ jerked around, a hand flying to his neck as he stared wide eyed at Rolf who was standing directly behind him, a syringe in his hand.

"What the hell?!" he exclaimed but the words came out slurred and EJ felt his world begin to become distorted.

He made a grab for the table and missed as he felt his knees begin to buckle, falling to the ground. Suddenly EJ couldn't keep his eyes open and even though he struggled valiantly against it soon the darkness enveloped him completely and he knew nothing else.

"I vish he vas a smaller man," commented Rolf with a sigh as he and Stefano came to stand over EJ's now unconscious body on the kitchen floor, "It iz not good for my back to be lifting zuch heavy zings you know Stefano."

"It goes with the territory Rolf," said Stefano with an unconcerned shrug at the other man's reservations.

"Ya I suppose zo," nodded Rolf stoically, "Za next job I have vill have no heavy lifting though, I vill make sure of it... and maybe lezz drugging."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Sami groaned coming slowly awake, her head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton wool.

"Thank goodness!" a familiar voice broke through her fog, "I thought you were going to be out for the duration."

Sami turned her head and blinked blearily at the man sitting beside her with the concerned look on his face.

"Rafe," she rasped, her throat unbearably dry, "What's happening, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure yet," said Rafe grimly, "But don't panic okay."

Sami frowned at him, not liking the suggestion that she was one to panic so easily but then she suddenly realized that her movements were restricted. She looked down to see that she was tied to a chair with a length of rope and that Rafe was in the same condition.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking around now as the fog began to lift.

The room was small and dark, obviously meant to detain people in. There was a single door in front of them and apart from the exposed light bulb swaying gently above them on the end of an electrical cord there was nothing else in the room.

"I don't know," scowled Rafe, "They knocked me out at the safe house and I came to about half an hour ago and haven't seen anyone."

He looked Sami up and down, taking in her heavily pregnant state.

"Are you alright?" he asked her solicitously, "Does the baby feel alright?"

"No," snapped Sami, wiggling around a little, "I'm tied to a chair after being drugged, of course I'm not okay Rafe! Now stop asking stupid questions and get us out of here!"

"I've been trying but whoever tied these knots really knew what they were doing," Rafe grimaced.

"Don't you have some kind of special FBI training to get you out of this at all?" asked Sami in exasperation.

"No I missed Harry Houdini day," said Rafe dryly, "Sorry about that, my bad."

"I don't see how sarcasm is going to help us any," said Sami snippily, "Unless you can use that sharp wit to cut through the ropes of course!"

"And now who's being sarcastic?" asked Rafe wryly.

Sami rolled her eyes but didn't comment. She looked about again and then frowned as she looked at Rafe.

"Not that I'm sad about it or anything," she said hesitantly, knowing that the whole reason she' been in witness protection in the first place was because there was an assassin out after her, "But why aren't we dead yet?"

"_Because you are still of use to me Samantha."_

Both Rafe and Sami looked over at the door which had suddenly opened to reveal the man who had just spoken those words standing in the doorway, a self satisfied look on his face.

"You!" hissed Sami, her eyes widening.

"Yes," replied the man easily, stepping into the room, "Me."

"A little help?" asked Rafe with a frown, looking between the two and not recognizing the man who had just entered the room.

"Oh how rude of me," said the man with a little smile, "Let me introduce myself Raphael – I am Stefano DiMera."

"Hm," said Rafe, his facial expression not changing at all at that information.

"Perhaps you have heard of me eh?" said Stefano, coming to stand in front of the younger man.

"I have," nodded Rafe, having heard much about the dastardly deeds of Stefano DiMera, if not what he looked like before this.

Rafe looked him up and down as Stefano looked at him with interest, clearly seeming to expect something more in the way of acknowledgement.

"Something to say Raphael?" he asked calmly.

"Just that I thought you'd be taller," said Rafe straight faced, "I guess evil doesn't have a height requirement."

Sami snickered at that despite the seriousness of their situation. After all Stefano knowing she was pregnant was the one thing she'd been trying to avoid this whole time and why she'd gone into witness protection so willingly in the first place.

"Ah we have a comedian in our midst," said Stefano smoothly, "How delightful."

He turned to look at Sami then.

"And how wonderful it is to see you in such high spirits my dear," he purred, "It is very important that the mother of my grandchildren is happy."

"Grandchild," Sami corrected him quickly, staring back at Stefano defiantly, "And I wouldn't say I'm happy. You've got me tied to a chair!"

"That is an unfortunate necessity for the time being," said Stefano, looking apologetic, "You will be free of your confines soon enough. I don't want to put my new grandchild under anymore duress than is necessary."

He looked down at her swollen stomach then, a pleased smile lighting up his face.

"Ah a new DiMera life," he said happily, walking up to Sami and putting a hand on her protruding stomach.

"Don't touch me!" shouted Sami, struggling against her bonds at Stefano's sickeningly intimate gesture.

"Get your hands off her!" growled Rafe as he too fought against the ropes restraining him.

"Settle down the both of you," said Stefano with a roll of his eyes at both of their histrionics as he dropped his hand away from Sami's stomach, "I merely wanted to make my acquaintance with my latest grandchild."

"This baby isn't a DiMera!" lied Sami quickly, desperate to throw him off, "This baby is Lucas'!"

"Don't insult my intelligence Samantha," said Stefano dismissively, "This baby is a DiMera. The product of a night of passion between you and my son, this I know."

"How do you know that?" asked Sami and then wrinkled her face in disgust, "Oh my god, you didn't have cameras in my bedroom did you?!"

"Of course not," said Stefano, looking offended at the suggestion, "Elvis informed me of your tryst."

"Icky," grimaced Sami but wasn't one to back down too easily, "So what if we did? I went back to Lucas after that and we made love several times and I can tell you that this baby is Lucas'!"

"This may surprise you Samantha," said Stefano calmly, "But I don't think you are that kind of girl eh? You are not the kind of woman to hop from one man's bed to another, despite the many rumors about you that I've heard."

"All from that shrew Kate Robert's no doubt," growled Sami, "Or that 'Debbie Does Dallas' wannabe Nicole."

"Watch your mouth Sami," said Nicole tersely, suddenly appearing in the door way, "Like you're some kind of saint!"

"Nicole!" she gasped in disbelief, "What are you doing here? With... with _him_?!"

Sami nodded her head at Stefano as the two of them stood side by side, looking down at Rafe and Sami in various degrees of amusement.

"Nicole and I have found that we could be of benefit to one another," said Stefano smoothly.

"What is it with you doing old men all the time?" asked Sami in disgust, "Talk about daddy issues!"

"Ours is not as parochial as a sexual relationship Samantha," said Stefano calmly, "It is a far more useful agreement then that."

"What do you mean?" asked Sami with a frown.

"It means I scratch his back and he scratches mine," said Nicole with a smirk.

"You mean you're working for Stefano to get EJ to do what he wants?" asked Sami bitterly.

"It's in his best interest," said Nicole sharply, "In _our_ best interest and seeing as we are going to be married soon I have a right to have a say in these things Sami!"

The thought of EJ marrying Nicole sent a stab of pain through Sami's chest but she had no one else to blame but herself on that front unfortunately. She'd practically pushed EJ into Nicole's arms back at the cabin but at the time Sami felt like she'd had no other choice. She'd been desperate to protect this new baby from Stefano which meant keeping her pregnancy a secret for as long as she could. Plus of course there had been the news of Nicole's own pregnancy to grapple with as well. It made her physically ill to think of a woman she hated so much carrying EJ's child and had been devastated to find out that the baby was actually his but that was how it was and Sami had just had to deal. Sami's eyes dropped to Nicole protruding stomach, feeling a lump in her throat at the thought that EJ was going to be at the birth of Nicole's child and not hers and felt a deep wave of regret at how things had turned out. Sami dragged her eyes from Nicole's stomach and looked at the other woman with disgust.

"So I guess what you're getting out of this is money?" she said scathingly, "That is the only thing that you really love in this world after all isn't it Nicole?"

"You're wrong Sami," said Nicole tightly, "I love EJ."

"Right," snorted Sami, "Of course you do."

"I do," said Nicole fiercely, her cheeks heating.

"You love his money," said Sami flatly, "And all the things he can give you Nicole! If EJ was suddenly a pauper in the street I can see your 'love' drying up pretty quickly somehow!"

"You don't know what the hell you're talking about Sami!" snarled Nicole.

"I know you gave up my brother who fool that he was really did love you to marry Lucas because his mom waved a check in front of your face," said Sami bitingly, "I leopard doesn't change its spots and you're still the same scheming, money grabbing whore that you always were Nicole!"

"Ladies, ladies," said Stefano, interrupting them before it could go any further, "There is no need for all of this impoliteness between us. After all we have some important business to conduct."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sami, feeling her stomach flop over nervously at Stefano's comment.

"A transaction," said Stefano easily, looking over at Nicole, "Nicole here has graciously helped my son to see the errors of his ways and return to the family fold and in return I will provide her with her heart's desire."

"A Swiss bank account?" asked Sami in confusion, starting to feel her nerves tighten at where this might be going.

"A family," said Stefano smoothly, "A child to make her and Elvis' joy complete."

"But... but you're having EJ's baby," said Sami, her voice starting to become raised with her distress as she looked over at Nicole.

"Not anymore," said Nicole tightly and held up her blouse to reveal the pregnancy padding.

"Whoa," said Rafe in surprise while Sami was rendered briefly speechless.

"A great tragedy has occurred and unfortunately Nicole has lost her child," said Stefano sadly.

Sami was looking between Nicole and Stefano then, a sudden horrible realization beginning to come to her.

"And then we find out you also are carrying a DiMera child," said Stefano looking at Sami, "And our happiness was returned to us and both Nicole and I knew that there was a way that she and Elvis could have the family they deserved."

"No," whispered Sami, the reality of what they were suggesting beginning to sink in, "No."

"You were intent on keeping this child from knowing its father Samantha," said Stefano heavily, "That is a terrible crime."

"So what, you're going to take this baby from its mother instead?!" choked out Sami, feeling the panic start to claw away at her now.

"This child will have a mother," said Stefano, looking over at Nicole.

"You're going to give my baby to an alcoholic, man eating prostitute to raise?!" asked Sami in abject horror, "Are you kidding me?! I'll never let that happen, do you hear me, NEVER!"

"You don't have any say in the matter," said Stefano simply, "I will decide what is best for my grandchild and that is to be with his or hers father. Nicole will be a fine mother I'm sure and she and Elvis will lead the way for the next generation of DiMera's."

"I don't believe this," said Sami faintly, "EJ will find out, you can't keep him in the dark about this forever. He'll figure out what you're doing!"

"No he won't!" said Nicole sharply, "EJ loves and trusts me and has no reason to think that I'm still not pregnant with his child."

"Can you hear the crazy in that sentence?" asked Sami in disbelief, "He trusts you so that makes it alright for you to trick him like this?!"

"I'm doing what is best for EJ!" said Nicole, defending herself, "He deserves to know his child and he was born to inherit the DiMera empire! We are going to be a big happy family, this new baby, Johnny, EJ and I."

"You keep your claws out of my son!" yelled Sami, "You're never going to have anything to do with either of my children Nicole, I swear to you!"

"Sami calm down," said Rafe with a concerned frown as her face flushed bright red, "You're getting yourself all worked up."

"They're stealing me babies!" screamed out Sami, "How am I meant to be?!"

"Raphael is right," said Stefano smoothly, "You must not upset yourself like this Samantha, and it is bad for the baby."

"Don't you dare tell me what is bad for my baby you monster!" yelled Sami, "They are my children and you can't have them!"

"I can see it is impossible to reason with you in your current state," said Stefano, unfazed by Sami's ranting, "I will return at a later date to talk to you further on this matter."

"So what's the plan here then Stefano?" asked Rafe, obviously thinking a little more ahead then Sami was right then, "You're keeping us both here for the duration?"

"You might have a use yet Raphael," said Stefano, giving the younger man a considered look, "I don't like to throw things away before I'm certain they no longer have a function."

"You can't keep us here," said Sami, her emotion still high, "People will know we are gone, they'll come looking for us!"

"Or they will assume that my man got the job done at last," said Stefano easily.

"Your man?" repeated Rafe, his FBI instincts kicking in and trying to work out exactly what else Stefano was us to, "You hired the gun man to kill the mayor?"

"I did," nodded Stefano and then gave a vaguely irritated look at Sami, "But then you had to see him my dear and things became complicated. It grieved me the thought of taking my grandson's mother from him but then I realized that he would still have a mother in Nicole once she and my son are wed. Of course when my man reported back to me about your wonderful condition that changed everything and we adjusted our plans accordingly."

Sami made a distressed sound at how casually Stefano talked about the taking of life, especially hers.

"How did your guy find us?" asked Rafe with a frown.

"I told Stefano about the webcam hook up," said Nicole, sounding very proud of herself, "And one of his computer whizzes was able to trace the call back to the safe house you two were in."

"As I said," Stefano smiled, "We have a mutually beneficial arrangement, Nicole and I."

"It's a sick arrangement," said Sami bitterly and then fixed Nicole with a warning look, "EJ is going to snap your scrawny neck when he finds out what you're doing Nicole!"

"EJ isn't going to find out anything about anything," said Nicole confidently, "You can be sure of that Sami."

"All I'm sure of is that I'm going to make certain that you two get what is coming to you!" Sami threatened them.

"I always did enjoy your bravado Samantha," said Stefano with a little laugh, "However misguided, very entertaining I must say."

He turned to Nicole then and smiled warmly.

"Come my dear," he said heartily, "We should allow our guests to get settled hm?"

"Sure," smirked Nicole, looking very happy with the current state of affairs, "I've got a wedding to get back to planning anyway."

With that last little dig delivered Nicole turned on her heel and walked out of the little room, with Stefano behind her.

"We will talk again soon eh?" he promised them and was then gone.

"Well this isn't good," commented Rafe rather stoically as two guards appeared in the doorway.

"Understatement much?!" asked Sami sarcastically, "The two craziest people in Salem have teamed up – 'isn't good' doesn't seem to really cover it somehow!"

"Stand up," ordered the larger of the two guards.

Sami hadn't paid them much attention but the one who had spoken was a giant of a man, easily being at least six feet four and almost as wide as he was tall. She noticed absently that he had the beginnings of two black eyes and a plaster across a possibly broken nose. His companion was smaller in comparison but still looked powerfully built; both of them were carrying guns in holsters and looked like they meant business. While Sami and Rafe had been talking the two men had handcuffed them and undone their ropes.

"Where are you taking us to?" asked Rafe, sizing the men up and deciding that he didn't stand a chance against them with his arms handcuffed behind his back.

"Disneyland," said the big man flatly, "Now walk."

"I don't believe this," said Sami in faintly as she and Rafe were led down some dark and twisting corridors by the two men, "Nicole Walker can't be in cahoots with Stefano DiMera to get her clammy hands on my baby to pass off as her own! This cannot be happening!"

"That's exactly what is happening," said Rafe grimly as they walked along, both of them with them handcuffed with their hands behind them and a burly guard on either side.

"Over my dead body!" spat out Sami angrily, glaring up at one of the guards as he bumped into her in the narrow corridor.

"I wouldn't say that too loudly," said Rafe flatly, sending her a warning look, "Once that baby you are carrying is born you are an expendable commodity Sami."

"Is this your way of cheering me up?" asked Sami bitingly as the truth of Rafe's words hit home, "Because it needs work if it is!"

"Shut up you two," growled the larger of the two guards, glaring at them both.

"You shut up," said Sami hotly, glaring right back at him, "I'm pregnant and as hormonal as hell so if you want to go at it tough guy let's do it!"

The two guards exchanged exasperated looks at her outburst and just kept moving them along.

"You don't really have any sense of self preservation do you?" asked Rafe, almost conversationally.

"It's gotten me this far," said Sami huffily.

"Need I remind you were 'this far' actually is?" asked Rafe wryly, "You may want to consider changing your approach to things Sami."

"And you may want to consider doing as Lurch said and shutting up!" said Sami huffily.

"Stop," ordered the other guard as they came to another large metal door that he proceeded to unlock with an electronic card.

The guards pushed Rafe and Sami through the now opened door and Sami frowned as she looked around. There seemed to be a row of small cells with bars on three sides and a brick wall at the back of them along both sides of the wall and a narrow walk way in between.

"Home sweet home," said Lurch mockingly and nudged the two forward.

Sami felt herself becoming a little hysterical as she realized that this was really happening and there was a good chance she was going to give birth to her child behind bars.

"Hey," called out Lurch to someone, "Come and meet your new neighbors."

Sami frowned and peered into the gloomy lighting of room full of cells, wondering who he was talking to. She racked her brain to think who else Stefano might have stashed away where ever they were. Sami didn't have long to wait as the dark mass that had been lying down on a bunk on one of the cells down suddenly moved and stood up. The guards kept pushing them down the aisle towards the figure and it was only as they drew close that there was enough light to see the man properly.

"EJ!" gasped Sami, receiving her second huge surprise of the day.

She stared at him wide eyed, unable to believe that he was there. EJ seemed to be having the same problem.

"Samantha," he choked out, his face mirroring hers and then his eyes slid to her extremely protruding stomach, his eyes widening as well.

He looked back at her in complete shock.

"Samantha!" he exclaimed, "You're pregnant!"

"I know," said Sami faintly, her heart beating wildly in her chest having not seen EJ in the flesh for nearly two months now.

He seemed just as impossibly handsome as she remembered him to be, the webcam didn't do him justice she decided. In the flesh EJ DiMera really was something else and had a ridiculously female thought that she must look a mess.

"I can't believe you're here," he said raggedly, "I can't believe you're here and _pregnant_!"

"I know I should have told you," grimaced Sami, ignoring the other three men in the room, "But the time never seemed right."

"What are you talking about?" asked EJ, looking at her in consternation.

"I was worried about Stefano getting his hands on this baby as well as Johnny," said Sami in a rush, suddenly feeling the need to explain, "That was why I was happy to go into witness protection, I couldn't have him finding out about this baby. I was trying to protect the baby from your father."

She'd been dreading this moment for months now and it was finally here and her words were falling over the top of one another as she tried to explain.

"I know," she continued on hurriedly, "Fat lot of good that did me considering I've ended up here but I was doing what I thought was best. And I know I should have told you at Christmas during the webcam thing but..."

"Samantha," EJ interrupted her in consternation, "I have no idea what you are talking about. Witness protection, webcams, Christmas, you're not making any sense sweetheart."

"What do you mean I'm not making any sense?" Sami frowned, "I'm talking about when we saw each other at Christmas over the webcam."

"Samantha I haven't seen you in eight months," said EJ earnestly, "I don't know who you were talking to but it wasn't me. I've been stuck in this hell hole since the night we made love in May."

"You... you what?" said Sami weakly, shaking her head, "That's not possible EJ. How is that possible?"

"Alright enough with the reunion," said the smaller guard and undid the cell next to EJ and shoved Sami into it, "You can catch up on your own time, you'll have plenty of it."

The two guards then put Rafe into a cell directly across from EJ and then turned around and left, locking the heavy metal door they'd come in by behind them but Sami didn't even notice, all she could do was stare at EJ.

"Eight months?" she repeated shakily, walking up to the bars that separated them, "You've been locked away in here for eight months EJ?"

"Yes," said EJ grimly.

"Oh god," she whispered, putting a hand to her mouth and wondering how that was even remotely possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTE****: **Okay, so how many of you got where I was going with that before I, you know, got there? LOL

Now extra brownie points if you can work out who the faux EJ really is. ;) In this story I'm writing Rafe and Sami as friends because that is the vibe I get off them. In real life the actors have known each other for years and years, just like BD and AS and I think it really shows in how comfortable they come across on screen - as friends. Rafe, just like Lucas and for that reason just don't work as a romantic pairing for Sami - there is no sexual tension in their scenes IMO but respect the opinions of people who think they sizzle of course - just can't see it myself. They both want her to change into a good girl and resort to stomping their feet and storming off the minute things don't go their way and then Sami has to grovel after them begging for another chance. Call me crazy but for me that isn't romantic. I want a love story between equals and for my money EJami is that. They both give as good as they get and they don't flinch away from the hard truths about each other. Of course the writers on the show seem determined to keep Sami as an adolescent girl and never let her grow up and learn from her mistakes - something I'm working to fix in my story "Fated" in particular and I find that utterly frustrating.

For anyone looking for a real EJami fix and a lot more of my EJami stories then a good place to check out is "**Forbidden Love**" which has absolutely everything your EJami lovin' heart could desire and then some. lol As I said, you'll find more of my stories there and on that board I'm able to add screen caps to my stories - I do love a little colour and movement to my story telling. :)

But enough waffling, let's get back to this story now and we'll get things from EJ's POV for a little bit...

**Chapter Three **

TWENTY FOUR HOURS PREVIOUSLY:

EJ lay on his cot in his cell, watching the sunbeam make its way steadily across the concrete floor. It was his morning ritual, waiting until the little ray of light streaming through the small barred window made it to a crack in the concrete before getting up to face another day of imprisonment. He'd invented a hundred little games like this to keep occupied and stop himself from sliding into desperate desolation. The angle of the sunbeam had changed as the weeks rolled by, telling him of the change of seasons even as he kept score mentally of each passing day. He'd been taken in summer and then that had passed way into autumn and now they were nearly done with winter.

It was hard to come to terms with the fact that he'd been kept away from all that he loved for such a long time now. At first he'd expected to be rescued promptly but when that hadn't happened EJ had taken it upon himself to escape and now bore the scars to prove it. He didn't even know how far he was from home only that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get back there. There had been many low moments for him in the last eight months, particularly when he thought of his children. The thought of them growing up without him was a constant ache inside EJ.

Even though technically Ali wasn't his daughter EJ loved her as though she were and all he wanted was to be able to hold both the twins in his arms again, breath in their baby smells and tell them that he loved them. EJ tortured himself daily with what new thing they would be learning. Johnny in particular had been so close to his first words when EJ had been taken and no doubt they were both chatting away happily now and even taking their first steps. Fresh pain washed over EJ at the thought, longing to have been there when that happened but that along with everything else had been taken from him.

It was hard not to let himself sink into a depression as the days continued to stretch into weeks and months. That was why he'd developed all his little rituals, intent on keeping his sanity, knowing he'd need it to exact his revenge on those who had done this to him. Once the sunbeam hit the crack in the concrete EJ would get up, wash his face in the basin in his cell and then proceed to exercise. The cell he was in was very small, only about twelve feet square but he made good use of it. A regime of pushups, sit ups, pull ups using the exposed beams above his head and several other creative uses of the limited space and furniture ensured that he kept himself fit. Every couple of days they would take him out into a little exercise yard as well and EJ would get a chance to stretch his long legs, running back and forth for often the entire two hours he was out there, just happy to be breathing in fresh air again. The exercise yard gave him no idea as to where he was, the high walls ensuring limited view, only the tops of the taller trees giving EJ some sensation of perhaps being out in the back of a forest perhaps.

EJ always looked forward to his time in the exercise yard, such as it was. His cell would become utterly stifling after awhile and it was just good to be out in the elements again and feel the sun on his face. Of course his time outside was the first thing they would take from him after an escape attempt but that only ever lasted for a couple of weeks before he'd be taken back out to the yard again. In EJ's mind the promise of escape was worth a few beatings and lack of sunshine if it meant he could get back to his family. Apart from missing his children and planning his escapes there was only one other thing that occupied EJ's thoughts and helped him to hold onto his sanity.

"Samantha."

Her name escaped his lips without him even realizing it as he waited patiently for the little light to hit its mark. The last time they'd been together they had made love properly for the first time. EJ relived those precious moments over and over again in his head, going through each tiny detail and remembering everything about their encounter. He'd waited so long for Sami to give herself to him and then when it had happened it had been all he'd ever dreamed of and so much more. Everything he'd had to endure up to that point, turning his back on his father, knowing she'd been cheating on him with Lucas, all of it had been made worthwhile in those amazingly intimate moments they'd shared together.

EJ's eyelids drooped as he remembered the feel of her soft skin under his hand, his fingers tingling at just the memory of it. The way she'd melted into him, her softness finding a home against every line of his hardness as thought they'd been made only for each other. When he'd striped the clothes from her body and laid her naked beneath him, every fantasy he'd ever had came true. It was such a short time together but EJ had memorized every dip and curve of her body, knowing her body as intimately as he did his now. The taste of her had been in his mouth as he kissed her during that first breath taking coming together and EJ had never known so much joy and completeness before in his life. She'd been all around him, enveloping him with her body and he'd drowned in her glorious beauty as she gave herself to him completely, only to be reborn as a new creation in that final earth shattering moment of release.

He'd held her in his arms afterwards, both tired and sweaty from their exertions and he'd felt the shift between them. It had been clear to him that Sami had finally let her defenses down around him even as she hastily tried to rebuild them, trying to fob off their encounter as just sex. She'd known that it was a lie just as EJ had and that had been proven when she willingly went into his arms for the promise of another bout of intense lovemaking only to be so jarringly interrupted by the unwelcome return of Lucas Horton. EJ supposed he had no one else to blame but himself seeing as he'd been the one trying to secure Lucas' release in the first place, wanting Sami to choose between them properly once and for all. The timing couldn't have been worse though because as soon as Sami saw Lucas she saw all those old feelings of guilt and fear return to her eyes.

How quickly she'd jumped from EJ's bed and chased after Lucas still galled him to this day, no matter how many hours he'd spent rationalizing it all. That was one thing being in prison gave EJ – the gift of time, relentless hour upon hour of it. So much so that it felt like his thoughts and memories alone would be the thing to drive him over that ledge. But EJ had learnt to take strength from his memories, to keep his brain active in trying to find a way out of this mess and back to the woman he loved and their children.

Things had been left badly between himself and Sami after having gone out for a walk to clear his head that night even as Lucas and Sami fought like cats and dogs over what the other man had walked in on. It had turned EJ's stomach to hear her begging Lucas for forgiveness for something that had been so special between them and he'd needed to get away. It was while he was out running that he'd been taken and now he was in this strange limbo of having no idea what had happened next between Sami and Lucas and of course his and Sami's fate was stalled by his absence.

Many times over EJ would torture himself with what had happened in the end. Had Sami been able to convince herself and Lucas that he really was the one for her? It seemed impossible to EJ but he was used to Sami's ability to delude herself so he wouldn't put it past her. It was almost an unbearable pain imagining Sami and Lucas together but EJ had to face the fact that might be the case. After all he'd just disappeared off the face of the earth so who knows what Sami must have thought. EJ was desperate to find a way out of his prison and get back to Sami so he could sort out everything between them. He was worried about what he might be going back to but EJ also knew that now that they'd made love at last he would never be able to let Sami go and if that meant he had to go back to Salem and fight for the woman he loved, well he was more than ready to do just that.

The sunbeam was at last on the crack in the cement and EJ got up, washing his face and then beginning on his exercise routine. He should be due for a turn in the exercise yard today but a recent escape attempt told him that wasn't going to happen. It hadn't been one of his more sophisticated tries when a fit of unbearable frustration had come over him as one of his wardens had been giving him his lunch. EJ had just rushed at him, trying to get past him in a fit of uncontrolled rage over what had been inflicted on him. It was unfortunate that it was the larger of the two guards that had opted to give EJ his lunch and things did not go well.

Even though EJ was probably fitter than he ever was before in his life, his imprisonment leaving him little else to do but exercise in his cell, he was simply no match for the man mountain that was this man. He'd caught him by surprise though which was why EJ probably hadn't managed to get himself shot. The man hadn't appreciated this unexpected work out and EJ had taken the brunt of his annoyance. EJ wasn't exactly a small man himself though and had managed to get in more than one good hit before the other man had thrown him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him and leaving EJ with more than a few bruises.

He exercised for an hour, grimacing as some of the bumps and bruises from his ill conceived escape attempt made themselves known. EJ hadn't exactly thought it through that time but sometimes he just needed to hit something to get his frustrations out so he wouldn't lose his mind totally. Hitting one of his captors was far more satisfying than just hitting a wall, which he'd already done several times. Next EJ washed himself down with a cloth and changed into some fresh clothes. He never knew when he was going to get fresh clothing so he tried to save a set so he could launder the other ones himself. It depended on the whim of the guards as to whether they'd let him keep one set to clean. EJ doubted they'd be in a particularly benevolent mood after his escapades of yesterday so these might be the only clean clothes he had for a while.

The last part of EJ's morning ritual was to shave. At first he'd grown a full beard but on a whim had asked for something to shave with and rather surprisingly a razor and shaving cream had been provided. EJ had then set about amusing himself with his facial hair, again just for something to do and keep the mind numbing boredom at bay. He'd given himself mutton chops, a Vandyke, an Abraham Lincoln, an Imperial and then a goatee, all successively whittling down the size of his beard. He then grew a full beard back again just so he could carve a four letter profanity beginning with the letter 'f' into it. There had been two letters on each cheek so that when the guards called on him he would point to each cheek and then at them. This little game amused him for far too long until EJ got bored with that as well and had opted to go with being clean shaven for awhile now. The sound of the heavy metal door being opened told EJ that he had company then. He wiped that last of the shaving cream from his face with his shirt and turned around to greet them.

"Well hello Betty," said EJ brightly as the large man lumbered towards him, "Don't you look lovely today?"

The other guard walked through the door behind him then.

"Oh and you've bought Veronica with you," grinned EJ, "The whole gang is here it seems."

This was another game of EJ's, toying with the guards and being generally annoying to them. It seemed the least he could do seeing as they were keeping him imprisoned and all. Besides, it helped to stave off the boredom and kept his brain ticking over, thinking up new ways to harass them. Neither would give EJ their names no matter how relentlessly EJ had nagged them so he'd decided on names for them. He'd gone through quite a list of names, Tweedledum and Tweedledee, Regis and Kelly, Burt and Ernie but in the end had settled on Betty and Veronica from the Archie comics. It was one of EJ's few pleasures these days, needling away at his captors and he did so with gusto. Neither man answered his cheery greeting as they walked down the passage way between the cells to get to EJ.

"I do hope you're not holding a grudge with our little misunderstanding from yesterday Betty?" asked EJ with a charming smile as the big man came to a halt in front of EJ's cell, breakfast tray in hand, "All water under the bridge now eh?"

The man's facial expression didn't alter as he held EJ's gaze steadily and then without a word he simply turned the tray upside down, sending EJ's breakfast tumbling to the filthy prison floor. EJ looked down at the remnants of his meal and then back at the guard whose expression hadn't changed one iota.

"It looks like that particular bridge is still under construction eh?" said EJ ruefully.

"Enjoy your breakfast wise ass," said the man bitterly, speaking at last.

EJ always took it as a little victory when he could get one of them to talk to him. He was starved for conversation, any kind of conversation and normally his guards were a reticent couple but any kind of human contact was a treat for EJ nowadays, even with these two. Betty than reached out with a giant foot and ground EJ's food into the cement while EJ looked on.

"I made it myself," he smirked, obviously enjoying himself.

"And obviously with a great deal of love," said EJ wryly as the man proceeded to scrap his shoe off on the bars.

"Bone appetite little man," he grunted, "Hope you choke on it."

"Actually it's pronounced _bon appétit_," said EJ sweetly, "But good on you for trying to improve on that third grade education of yours. Although I am curious, how do you manage to get that gargantuan ass of yours into those little seats in the elementary school? Is it some kind of ropes and pulley system?"

Betty made a lunge for EJ's throat through the bars but EJ was too quick for him, stepping back out of his reach. Whilst the other man might have size and strength on his side EJ definitely had speed and agility.

"I'm going to snap you like twig you limey, stuck up bastard!" growled the man, his arm still grabbing for EJ through the bars.

"Leave it!" ordered the other guard, trying to drag the huge man away from the bars with no success, "This is what he wants, don't give the prick the satisfaction!"

"Oh I hope you don't kiss your mother's goodnight with those mouths," tutted EJ with a shake of his head.

He then gave a mock concerned look at the man.

"All of this ire on your behalf isn't because I happened to break your nose in our little skirmish yesterday is it Betty?" asked EJ, looking aggrieved at the thought, "I mean some women find a man who looks like a dog who chases parked cars to be a very attractive quality."

EJ pursed his lips then, looking thoughtful.

"As long as you tip them well afterwards of course," he continued on musingly, "Those working girls certainly have a soft spot for a big tipper and if you pay them enough they might even let you get close to it… with the lights off of course. I mean there are limits, even for a whore."

"Don't poke the bear Elvis," said a voice mockingly, "You'll have the animal advocacy groups onto me."

The sound of a fourth person's voice made everyone turn their heads and look down the passageway to the door. Betty dropped his arms and took a step back from the bars at seeing who it was.

"Ah Jughead," said EJ with a twist of his lips, "I guess the whole gang really _is_ here."

"Ever the comedian hmm?" asked the newcomer, strolling up to EJ's cell and giving a dismissing nod.

"I'm going to get you but good little man," growled Betty, sending him a death look as he left, "I'm going to tear out your spine and use it to beat you to bloody pulp with!"

"Well that sounds enchanting," said EJ sweetly, "It's a date Betty. Shall we say I'll pick you up at eight?"

The man's face darkened into a cold fury at EJ's continuing taunting of him.

"Wear something pretty won't you Betty?" asked EJ teasingly and sending him an impish wink, "I like my women in dresses – I see you in a little low cut, backless number with sequins myself."

It looked like the huge man wanted to charge down the passageway to EJ's cell and simply pull him out through the bars in one go but the newcomers presence stopped him. EJ could still clearly see however the death and destruction written in the man's face for him and couldn't help himself from pushing a little harder.

"Oh who am I kidding?" said EJ straight faced, "We've been fighting the sexual tension between us this whole time. Whatever you chose to wear Betty I'm sure I'll love it."

There was the audible sound of the big man grinding his teeth together before his cohort led him away, leaving only EJ and the newcomer.

"Making friends I see Elvis," said the man mockingly, walking over to stand directly in front of EJ now.

"I am a people person," agreed EJ readily and then gave a bit of a sigh, "It can be a bit of a burden sometimes but what are you going to do right?"

"You do realize that man could kill you in seven different ways before you could even blink?" asked the man wryly, "Not least of which if he simply decided to roll over on top of you."

"But you don't want me dead now do you?" asked EJ, all teasing gone now as he arched a challenging eyebrow at the other man, "Because if you did you and I wouldn't be standing here right now and you'd have done away with me long ago."

"Perhaps I enjoy the company?" offered up the man.

"Perhaps Betty and I will run off into the sunset together and start a whole new life together," suggested EJ sarcastically.

The man's lips curled into an upward smile at that, obviously picturing it.

"You do have your amusing moments Elvis," smiled the man.

"You know Andre," returned EJ calmly, "I wish I could return the compliment."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The two men sized each other up, not speaking for a moment.

"So are you ever going to tell me what this is all about?" asked EJ tightly, all humor leaving him now as the frustration welled up inside him again, "Don't you think I have the right to at least know why my liberty has been taken from me?"

"All of your rights were taken from you Elvis when you chose to betray the family," said Andre, his lips twisting, "When you turned your back on your birthright and your own father all to get that blonde little chit on her back."

EJ's jaw tightened to hear him talk that way about Sami and he put his hands up to the bars, getting a grip on them and on his temper.

"You don't know anything about what you are saying," said EJ tersely.

"Was she really that good a lay Elvis?" asked Andre with mock interest, ignoring the warning tones in EJ's voice, "Did she rock your world so much that you thought nothing of betraying the man who had raised you and loved you your entire life eh Elvis? What services exactly did she provide for you that made it all worthwhile I have to wonder? There are a lot of whores in the world Elvis that would have taken your money happily but you have to pick the one who wanted your birthright!"

"You son of a bitch don't talk about Samantha like that!" now it was EJ lunging through the bars at Andre, losing control.

EJ didn't like to lose his temper around Andre but some days it was beyond him to keep all his emotions in check.

"You know if you're not going to tell me I suppose I could always asked Lucas Horton," said Andre thoughtfully, stepping back out of EJ's reach and continuing to taunt the other man, "They're together now I believe. In fact he's probably got her bent over some pool table in a bar doing her right now. What do you think Elvis, ain't young love grand?"

EJ's hands returned to the bars, his knuckles going white as he struggled not to picture the horribly graphic image Andre had just painted. He knew he should be used to this by now but no matter how hard he tried it still got to EJ and Andre knew this full well. If EJ had games to keep his sanity it seemed as though Andre had just as many to make sure his remained lost forever. He would often taunt EJ with various versions of what was going on in the outside world. Sometimes he'd tell EJ that Sami was with Lucas now or some other man, ranging from someone plausible like Phillip or a newcomer to Salem to the insane, like Mickey Horton or even himself. Even worse sometimes he'd claim that she was dead or that the twins were sick and dying and only EJ's bone marrow could save them. There seemed no end to the twisted scenarios the older man could come up with and the glee with which he would tell his stories.

"It must be nice not being weighed down with sanity any longer," EJ commented mockingly, forcing himself back under control and not giving Andre the satisfaction of seeing how badly his words affected him.

"I'm not complaining," Andre agreed happily enough, "But you know I'm not the insane one if you think that you can leave Stefano DiMera languishing in a coma, stow him away in some kind of hospice and forget about him."

"So all of this is you acting in revenge on the behalf of my father?" asked EJ shortly, "Is that it? You're doing all this for a man who is no more than a vegetable if he is even alive anymore."

EJ had no idea as to the fate of his father other than he seemed to be in a permanent vegetative state when he'd last seen him. He, Tony and Lexie had taken a vote on what to do about their father and though it had been a hard decision on many levels, especially for EJ, it was decided that the world would be a better place without Stefano DiMera in it and had opted to not pursue any further treatment for him. There was a good chance that Stefano was already dead by now and yet EJ was still at the mercy of a deluded Andre carrying out his imagined bidding.

"Stefano is the Phoenix," said Andre with deep admiration in his voice, "He cannot die."

"A trait you seemed to have inherited," observed EJ, still determined to get at least part of the story from Andre even though he'd failed so far.

The other man seemed in a chatty mood today for some reason so EJ leapt on that, intent on finding out more. Knowledge was power after all and he needed all the help he could get at the moment.

"Not to be impolite and all but aren't you meant to be dead?" asked EJ, "I mean there was a funeral and everything."

EJ had asked this question before but it looked like he might actually get an answer today for whatever reason.

"After my unfortunate brush with gravity I was gravely ill," nodded Andre thoughtfully, "But your father did not give up on me. He knew there was some tension between myself and the Salem police department…"

"Yes," said EJ ironically, "Nothing gets them more _tense_ than a killing spree and a rampage of destruction."

"Quite," smiled Andre, obviously enjoying the memory of it all, "Stefano was concerned that should I rally that I would be receiving a less than warm welcome back."

"Prison does have a certain lack of warmth to it," agreed EJ dryly, speaking from experience then, "But a surprising amount of cockroaches make up for it."

"He secreted me away to be taken care of properly and faked my death," said Andre, "Fortunately just about everyone at Salem University can be bought and paid for rather cheaply so it was no bother. Three weeks later I woke up and set about returning myself to my former glory."

EJ looked Andre up and down then and gave him a mocking look.

"I going to go ahead and assume the workmen are taking an extra long lunch on the repairs," said EJ sarcastically.

"I may have a few extra… decorations," conceded Andre, touching a hand to a long scar that ran down his face now, "But I am a better man for having endured it."

"If not a faster one," EJ taunted him about the limp he now sported.

"I don't need to be fast when I have the resources of Stefano DiMera behind me," said Andre, baring his teeth with what should probably have been a smile but simply wasn't.

"Is my father even still alive?" asked EJ in exasperation, "Is there any point to you doing all this? I know you've long had a dog like need to please my father but honestly Andre, what do you hope to achieve out of all this?"

"You have no idea about what is at stake here Elvis," said Andre with a smirk.

"So enlighten me!" said EJ in annoyance, "Come on Andre, I can see that you're dying to rub my face in something."

"All in good time Elvis," said Andre, obviously enjoying himself, "All in good time."

Andre stuck his hands in his pockets then and sent EJ a cheerful look.

"Well I've enjoyed our little chat Elvis," he said easily, "But I really do have things I must be getting on with so I'll leave you to your…"

Andre paused then and looked behind EJ at his cell and then back at EJ.

"… to your nothing shall I?" he asked him with a knowing smile.

"If you feel like another chat I can always cancel my nothing and reschedule Andre," offered up EJ as he watched the other man leave, "Nothing is very understanding like that."

"I'm sure," laughed Andre but didn't turn around and kept going, disappearing behind the metal door just as Betty and Veronica had.

EJ grimaced as he was left to his own devices again. Well he'd gotten more out of Andre than he normally did but it was all pretty much what he'd postulated for himself anyway. He had a few rather frightening blank spots of his initial couple of weeks of imprisonment and EJ was determined to find out what had actually gone on in that time, fearing it was not good. EJ knew he needed to figure out what exactly was going on if he had a hope in hell of stopping it all and getting himself out of this. He couldn't help but worry over what Andre might have planned for Sami and the twins and it had to be only a matter of time before he involved them in this more than they already were and EJ simply couldn't allow that.

**~//~**

"So how was he?" the man asked as Andre walked into the room.

"Same as always," shrugged Andre, "Belligerent, sure of himself, frustrated."

"He should be grateful to be alive to feel any of those things," said Stefano dourly, "My son has been a great disappointment to me."

"Mm," said Andre casually, having heard it all before now as he strolled over to the examination table in the middle of the room and looked down at the unconscious man on it, "And how is your other 'son' doing?"

Stefano looked down at the man currently strapped to the table and grimaced.

"Rolf is having some minor hiccups with him," admitted Stefano.

"Ze are more zan ze hiccupz Stefano," declared Rolf impatiently as he fiddled with attaching some electrodes and wires he'd just attached to the man's forehead, "Zese headaches he haz been experiencing could be very bad newz for us!"

"And that is why you are working your magic old friend," said Stefano easily.

"Zience iz not magic Stefano," grumped Rolf, "Zis I have tried to tell you many timez over in all ze yearz ve have vorked together."

"Just do what is needed to get him back up on his feet," said Stefano impatiently.

"It really is amazing," marveled Andre, going to stand over the man on the table and leaning down, peering at him closely, "You can't tell him apart from the real Elvis."

"The surgeons' who worked on him did a marvelous job," agreed Stefano happily, coming to join him in admiring the doctor's handiwork, "No one has noticed anything amiss at all, the transition between swapping out my son for this facsimile has been very smooth."

"I vas surprised," admitted Rolf thoughtfully, "Zere has been a rather significant change in hiz personality and yet no one haz commented on it, zere have been no alarm bellz zounding."

"People see what they want to see," said Stefano easily, "And let's face it; the good people of Salem aren't exactly the brightest light bulb in the drawer eh? It is easier for them to accept that loving Samantha Brady has broken Elvis' spirit and that is why he is the way he is now, a little vague and somewhat clueless than to ask too many questions."

"If only his spirit was broken," grimaced Andre, "The only thing broken of late is Rocco's nose and the man is not happy about it."

"My son has an indomitable spirit like all DiMera's," said Stefano proudly, "A fighter as much as he is a lover."

"Which was what saw him in the mess in the first place," commented Andre dryly, "His falling in love with Samantha totally turned his head and then he just turned on you and became totally unmanageable. So that is why we had to go to all this trouble in the first place."

"It is true," nodded Stefano with a sigh, "I had high hopes for Elvis and Samantha to head up the next generations of DiMera's but it was not to be. His willful disobedience and allegiance with the Brady's put paid to those hopes unfortunately. I could not allow my son to remain so out of control. Fortunately the latest woman who is destined to be Mrs. Elvis DiMera is far more accommodating and sensible about things."

"And Nicole really has no idea that this isn't the real Elvis?" asked Andre in disbelief.

"Why should she?" shrugged Stefano, "She had barely been in town five minutes before the real Elvis was taken. After that it was this version of Elvis that she knew from then on and how do the young people say it now, _hooked up_ _with_, in an elevator."

"Yes," said Andre, making a distasteful face, "He may look like Elvis but certainly lacks the finesse to go along with it."

"Ah fortunately for us Nicole Walker does not expect much from her relationships with men," said Stefano with a little laugh, "It is a great benefit of having a woman who has sold her body for sex in the past, they know the score and never really let their hearts get in the way of their heads, especially when it comes to money. I think that is why I have always admired Kate Roberts so much."

"Well I suppose that is why Samantha would never have worked out as a wife to Elvis and as part of our family," mused Andre, "She doesn't understand that, her heart always rules her head and she'd managed to turn Elvis into the same emotional creature who was worthless to us, worse than worthless, a liability to the DiMera empire."

"Yes," sighed Stefano sadly, "It became apparent to me when Elvis would not even let me take Giovanni out for a stroll that day after Christmas because Samantha would not approve that I had lost my son. Of course his betrayals only deepened after that and sealed his fate. I had no option but to move against him and begin to set this all in motion."

"And after Marlena tried to kill you, putting you in that coma for all that time I took over after having recovered from my own injuries," nodded Andre in satisfaction, "Bringing to fruition what you had started."

"It was no easy thing," Stefano praised him, putting a fatherly hand on Andre's back, "But you did very well. Everything has gone to plan."

"You vere both just lucky to have found a zubstitute for Elvis as you did," said Rolf warningly, "Zere are not zat many men who vould match his phyzicality zo eazily."

"I admit it was a stroke of good fortune," nodded Stefano with a smile, "To find him as we did and being the exact same size as Elvis and of course, expendable."

"It was embarrassingly easy how we were able to have his death faked so we could work on him," agreed Andre with a little laugh, "The American penal system is so very amusing to me."

"Zat vas the eazy part," grumbled Rolf, "Zis man endured monthz of plastic zurgery to get him to rezemble Elvis and he vas not happy about that… at least until I viped his memoriez, zen he became eazier to handle. Zen ze really hard vork started, carefully reconstructing his mind viz za memories of Elvis."

"I know, I know," said Andre impatiently, "It was hard but didn't I help you by kidnapping the real Elvis so you could get all of his most current memories hm? That first couple of weeks Elvis spent almost totally unconscious while you collected his memories and then implanted them in this one's mind even while he was integrating himself into Elvis' life. Now look how well it has all turned out?"

"Indeed," interrupted Stefano happily, "I woke up from my coma to find all my wishes fulfilled. I now have a loving and attentive son returned to me who is easily maneuvered to do with as I please and a woman by his side that will do all that she can to ensure that the DiMera name and of course fortune remains stronger than ever. It has all gone perfectly to plan, more than perfectly now that I have found out that Samantha is about to bear another DiMera child. While I was not thrilled to think of the baby Nicole was carrying as a DiMera I was prepared to afford it all the benefits that name entails, she certainly had no idea that the child she was carrying wasn't a DiMera."

"I guess it's lucky for everyone she miscarried then," commend Andre idly, not even noticing how cold that statement was and even if he did he wouldn't have cared.

"Exactly," said Stefano in satisfaction, "It was fate that she should lose her child while we found out Samantha was pregnant with a real DiMera heir. This could not be more perfect if we planned it. Nicole is ridiculously grateful I have secured for her a child so she can secure this Elvis' love and I will have a DiMera by blood as my grandchild."

"Zere are still zings to conzider Stefano," said Rolf sending him a warning look, "Zese headachez of our Elvis are troublezome. It could mean the za programming iz coming undone and he vill start to remember hiz life before. He haz too many connections to too many people in Salem for my liking. Remember za lezzon's of John Black."

"Exactly," said Stefano confidently, "You turned John Black into Roman Brady over twenty years ago now, you must have learnt much since then Rolf and with your new knowledge you can fix this."

"I have learnt zat za human brain iz very tricky and it iz hard to predict ze outcomez of zese zings," said Rolf unhappily, "If zis Elvis starts remembering hiz past zen everyzing could unravel very quickly."

"You are a glass empty kind of person aren't you Rolf?" asked Andre with a quirk of his lips.

"Zis is a zerious and delicate business," fretted Rolf, "You are both putting a lot of faith in ze programming of zis Elvis and you need to be aware of how eazily vhat you have created could come crashing down."

"I'm confident in your ability to get this Elvis back up on his feet and back to his loving fiancé Rolf," said Stefano calmly, "It is necessary to maintain the status quo. I have big plans to use this more amenable version of Elvis in my business and I am not going to give up on that because of a few technical issues. Fix it Rolf, that is all I want and quickly. It is just as well that Elvis and Nicole do not share a bed at the moment so she won't miss him until the morning. Fortunately they both have secrets to keep eh?"

"Vhy doez no one ever take my concernz zeriously?" lamented Rolf with a sigh but the other two men were already leaving.

Rolf looked down at the faux EJ on the table and sighed heavily.

"Well my friend," he said, conversing with the unconscious man, "Let uz hope zis fixez your headachez hm? Zere iz a lot at stake here and if vould not bode well for you if you were no longer uzeful to zose two. Take it from zomeone who knowz."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

EJ's stomach grumbled noisily, complaining bitterly at having been denied its breakfast and lunch and now quite possibly its dinner as well. Apparently this Betty wasn't as easy going as her comic book counterpart and could really hold a grudge. He was the one he should have called Veronica EJ mused but it was too late now, he thought of the man mountain as Betty and that was that.

"Settle down boy," said EJ with a sigh, putting his hand on his gurgling stomach, "There is nothing I can do about it unless you fancy some crunchy cockroaches to gnaw on."

His stomach gurgled at just the thought of eating; even a cockroach and EJ frowned down at it as he lay on the cot in his cell.

"Well too bad," he mumbled, still talking to his stomach, "I'm not at the point yet of eating vermin so just pull your head in alright, I've got enough problems without you getting on my case as well."

The sound of the door at the end of the holding cells being opened alerted EJ to the fact that he was about to get more company.

"It's like Grand bloody Central in here today," he muttered to himself but it wasn't really a complaint, always happy to have something to break up the tedium of his days.

He heard Betty speak then.

"_Home sweet home… hey, come and meet your new neighbors."_

EJ frowned and stood up from the cot, peering through the dim lighting as the four people walked down between the cells towards him. EJ thought his eyes were playing tricks on him as a very familiar blonde head stood out amongst the gloom and was almost sure he was hallucinating now from lack of food but he couldn't stop himself from saying her name anyway.

"Samantha," EJ gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing and sure she was going to evaporate at any minute into nothingness and leave him utterly crushed.

It was as though all his fevered imaginings of her had finally been made into flesh, standing before him looking more gorgeous than any woman had a right to be. She was looking back at him in as much shock and it was then that EJ noticed her swollen stomach and his whole world just rocked.

"Samantha," he choked out again, "You're here and you're _pregnant_!"

A thousand thoughts bombarded EJ's brain at once but on seeing the state Sami was in only a single thought mattered in that split second.

"Oh please god let it be mine," he thought to himself desperately.

There was a real chance that if that baby turned out to be Lucas' or someone else's again EJ really would lose his mind. The hope of a future with Sami had been the only thing getting him through each mind numbing day of his incarceration. To have that taken from him now felt like it would be too much for EJ to bear at this point. Her garbled talk of witness protection and webcams only served to confuse EJ further.

She was talking as though they'd only seen each other a few days ago instead of eight months. The look on her face when he'd told her that had been beyond shocked and EJ then realized that there was far more to know about what was going on then he'd ever imagined. Betty and Veronica had gone now and there was only Sami and whoever that man she came in with in the room and EJ just needed some answers but he had so many questions he didn't know where to start.

"EJ you can't have been here eight months," said Sami shakily, "It's just not possible, you're confused."

"Whilst I am confused about a great many things Samantha," agreed EJ readily, his gaze sliding to her swollen belly again, "How long I've been here is _not_ one of them."

"But I've seen you in that time," protested Sami, looking distressed.

"I don't know who you saw but it wasn't me," said EJ firmly, her words suddenly giving him some answers as to why no one had come looking for him, "Trust me sweetheart, I've been here since that night in May."

"Looks like you've got a doppelganger then," commented Rafe, finding this to be a very interesting development.

"I'm sorry and who are you again?" asked EJ in vexation, scowling at Rafe.

"Rafe Hernandez," said Rafe, holding his gaze steadily, "I was the FBI agent assigned to protect Sami."

"From what exactly?" asked EJ with a frown, wondering what the hell had been going on in Salem since he'd been gone.

"I saw this hit man kill the mayor on the DiMera mansion doorstep," said Sami, "And I've been in witness protection ever since."

EJ's eyes widened at hearing that.

"Someone is trying to kill you?" he asked in horror, "In your condition?"

"I wasn't advertising _my condition_ at the time," said Sami wryly.

"And that's how I ended up in witness protection protecting Sami," finished off Rafe.

"Well you've certainly done a bang up job," said EJ sarcastically, utterly horrified that Sami was now caught up in this mess, "Just how long did you have to train for to get both yourself and the woman you were meant to be helping in this much trouble?"

"Don't pick on Rafe," said Sami, leaping to the other man's defense which EJ didn't like at all, instantly feeling a flash of jealousy towards the other man.

"I don't need you to stand up for me Sami," said Rafe tightly from his cell across from theirs, "I can speak for myself."

"Well fine then," huffed Sami, folding her arms in front of herself, "Pardon me for breathing!"

Same old Sami, as defensive as always thought EJ affectionately and felt a flood of blessed familiarity wash over him. Apparently the more things changed the more they really did stay the same.

"Samantha," said EJ urgently, his incarceration having done away with the niceties in his conversations, "I have to know, is that child you're carrying mine? Please, tell me the truth."

She'd implied it from her earlier rushed explanations but EJ needed to know for sure. There was this long, heart stopping moment that Sami took to answer that question and EJ nearly started screaming at the suspense of it all but then she spoke at last. EJ grabbed the bars that separated their two cells and looked at her with tense anticipation.

"Yes," she said with a sigh, putting a protective hand on her bulging stomach, "The baby is yours EJ."

A heady joy rushed through EJ at that and his heart started beating wildly in his chest in excitement. He would have loved the child regardless because he or she was a part of Sami but this was yet another thing that tied them together and it gave EJ extra hope that things were over between her and Lucas for good.

"So you broke up with Lucas right away?" pushed EJ, looking at Sami expectantly, "The day after we made love, you told him that I was the one you wanted?"

It was all he'd ever wanted for her to do; end it with Lucas and admit her love for him so they could start a proper life together.

"More or less," hedged Sami, not quite meeting his eye.

EJ let go of the bars and regarded Sami suspiciously then, his hopes beginning to sink a little and the too familiar jealousy rearing its ugly head as they discussed Lucas yet again. EJ was so sick of that man's name there were no words for it.

"So which was it?" he asked flatly, "More or less?"

"It was complicated," said Sami defensively, "I had a lot of things to work through alright?!"

"And how long did this 'working through' process take you?" scowled EJ, not liking where this was going.

This wasn't exactly how he'd pictured their reunion and couldn't help getting annoyed at the way Sami was clearly keeping something from him.

"A little while," said Sami defiantly, "I was confused, so sue me!"

"But after you'd thought about it for _awhile_ then you realized I was the man for you and dumped Lucas?" EJ pushed her, "Right Samantha?"

"In a manner of speaking," said Sami, still not looking him in the eye.

"And could I have clarification on what that means exactly?" asked EJ, frowning down at Sami.

"¡Dios mío!" exclaimed Rafe, throwing up his hands in vexation as it went back and forth between the two, "There has to be something about this kind of torture in the Geneva Convention! Look, Lucas dumped her alright! She clung to him like a cheap perfume until he forced her to let go by banging some opera singer in a public bathroom!"

"It was an elevator," ground out Sami, glaring death at him for just blurting out the truth like that and regretting fiercely ever having confided in him.

"Whatever," said Rafe dismissively, "A public bathroom, an elevator – somewhere nasty and decidedly unromantic was my point."

"Well that Lucas has always been a classy guy," said EJ mockingly, pleased that Sami finally had her eyes opened up to what a loser that man really was, "He certainly knows how to treat his women right."

"Oh like you can talk!" exclaimed Sami, "You were doing that witch Nicole at the same time in an elevator and at least Lucas didn't get Chloe pregnant!"

"Whoa!" said EJ holding up his hand in protest, "Not me remember?! The closest I've got to any action in the last eight months is when Betty tried to shove my head down the toilet and I'm almost certain he copped a feel at the same time!"

"Who is this Betty?" asked Sami and to EJ's intense pleasure she actually sounded jealous.

"The big guy who bought you in and I call the smaller one Veronica," EJ informed her with a small smirk.

"From the Archie comics," said Rafe in amusement, "Funny. I bet they just love that."

"That wasn't the exact word that was used," said EJ wryly, enjoying briefly the memory of how much the names annoyed the two men.

"Oh right," said Sami and frowned, obviously having trouble remembering that it wasn't really EJ who had done such a thing.

She suddenly looked up at him as realization dawned on her, her face lighting up.

"That means you haven't gotten Nicole pregnant!" she exclaimed and looked very happy about that.

"Not unless I can manage it with a handshake these days," said EJ dryly, "No. Whoever has replaced me, that is who that baby belongs to."

"She lost the baby," said Sami distractedly, clearly still trying to process all this and then looked up at EJ in distress, "And now she and Stefano are teaming up to take our baby to replace the one she lost. Oh EJ I can't bear the thought of those two monsters coming anywhere near our child!"

"It's alright sweetheart," said EJ reassuringly, grabbing her suddenly shaking hands through the bars, "I won't let that happen. I swear to you, I'll protect you and this baby from both Nicole and my father…"

EJ trailed off then, realizing what he'd said.

"…who clearly isn't as dead as I'd first thought," he finished thoughtfully.

"He woke up a couple of months ago," said Sami unhappily, "And then promptly tried to kill everyone by pumping purple gas into the hospital in revenge against my Mom for putting him into a coma."

"Marlena did?" asked EJ in surprise.

"She injected something into Stefano to put him into the coma but he woke up," said Sami unhappily.

"In not a good mood I'm guessing," said EJ thoughtfully.

"Yeah well, purple gas," shrugged Sami.

"So he and Andre must be working together in all this," pondered EJ, starting to put it all together now.

"Andre?!" said Sami in shock, "But he's dead, for over a year now!"

"Apparently it didn't take," said EJ wryly, "A common problem in the DiMera family."

"Does no one in Salem stay dead?" asked Rafe in consternation as he listened in on their conversation, which wasn't that hard seeing as they were only a few feet away.

"Not the ones you want to," said EJ dryly, his mind moving mile a minute now.

He looked down at Sami who looked a little overwhelmed by this latest development but a thought had just occurred to EJ.

"Wait," EJ frowned, piecing this altogether now, "Didn't you just say that my double got Nicole pregnant when they had sex in an _elevator_? What's been going on in Salem since I've been gone, has it been turned into the world's largest porn set or what?"

"There was a blackout on the fourth of July," said Sami sourly, not enjoying reliving the memory, "All the elevators got stuck."

EJ suddenly looked very ill, going quite pale.

"Are you telling me that my double and Nicole had sex in the same elevator that Lucas and I'm assuming Chloe from your description there, did the nasty as well... at the same time?" EJ looked truly horrified by this thought.

"NO!" exclaimed Sami, looking just as disgusted by the thought, "Of course not."

"Thank god," EJ sighed, looking very relieved, "That would be beyond weird."

"The elevators were side by side," volunteered Rafe cheerfully, deciding to have some fun with it now.

"I think I feel sick," EJ grimaced.

"_You_ feel sick?" said Sami bitterly, "I was the one who had the joy of seeing you and that slut staggering out of the elevator after having done... done _that_! How do you think_ I_ felt?!"

"Again Samantha," said EJ forcing himself to be patient as she kept accusing him of things he hadn't done, "It wasn't me remember? It was this imposter that is running around Salem pretending to me."

He straightened up then and glared down at Sami.

"What did you care anyway?" he asked her defiantly, "Apparently you threw my ass to the curb as soon as Lucas was back on the scene despite our sharing that amazing night of lovemaking. Clearly it meant nothing to you otherwise you wouldn't have been begging Lucas to take you back all that time!"

"And we are back there again," sighed Rafe, rolling his eyes and leaning heavily against the bars of his cell, "It's like being trapped in my own personal soap opera, something from Passions even with this fake twin stuff. God but I hated that show!"

"Riveting, thanks for sharing," bit out EJ in annoyance, glaring at the other man and not in the mood for a commentary right now, "But do you mind, Samantha and I are trying to have a private conversation."

"Oh sorry," said Rafe sarcastically, "Where are my manners? I'll just step outside for a minute until you're done."

Rafe made an exaggerated action to leave but of course came up against the bars.

"Oh wait," he said in mock surprise, "I can't, that's right… I'M IN A CELL!"

"Very amusing," said EJ tightly, sounding anything but and not warming to this man at all, "But perhaps if you spent less time working on your comedic shtick spiel and more on protecting my heavily pregnant wife than perhaps she wouldn't be currently in this kind of danger!"

"Well perhaps if you figured out how prophylaxes works then she wouldn't be heavily pregnant in the first place?!" returned Rafe defiantly, "What you have sex twice and end up with a pregnancy both times? What is that? I'm a Catholic and I don't even get that!"

EJ looked at Sami then who was looking both annoyed and embarrassed at the same time.

"Was there any aspect of our life and in particular our sex life that you didn't feel the need to share with Señor Hot Pants here Samantha?" he asked bitingly.

"I've been locked in a loft with him for weeks on end!" said Sami defensively, "Eventually talking about the weather didn't cut it EJ! It just came up!"

"Hey that's _Special Agent_ Hot Pants to you DiMera," said Rafe straight faced, not backing down.

"How is this helping anything?" asked Sami in exasperation at the two men's childish bickering.

"I'm sorry Samantha," said EJ with some sarcasm, "But my entire world has just been upended so forgive me if I'm a little on edge."

"You're on edge?" said Sami bitterly, "I've got a bowling ball pressing down on my bladder and my ankles are swelling up so that I now have cankles instead!"

"You need to sit down."

Both men spoke as one and then glared at each other.

"She's _my_ wife and that is _my_ child," said EJ territorially and then glanced over at Sami a little worriedly, "We're still holding with that right?"

"Yes EJ," said Sami in annoyance, "This is your baby, stop asking me that already will you?!"

"I'm sorry sweetheart but after the debacle surrounding the twin's paternity you can't blame me for needing a little reassurance on that point," said EJ with a quirk of his lips, "Now you need to sit down and rest some."

"What I really need to do is use the bathroom," grimaced Sami, putting her hand on her stomach and looking very uncomfortable.

"Behind you," nodded EJ at the little toilet that each cell was equipped with.

Sami turned around, her eyes widening with horror at the sight.

"Oh hell no!" she exclaimed, "There is no way on god's green earth I am going to be going to use that with you two just standing there!"

"Sami you've lived with us both," shrugged Rafe, "It's not like we didn't know you used a bathroom throughout the day."

"There is a huge difference between knowing it in your head and being treated to a three D version of it completely with surround sound!" ground out Sami in agitation.

"There is a fair echo off these walls," confirmed EJ thoughtfully, looking around the closed in space which Sami didn't find helpful at all.

"Turn around," she bit out, "Both of you!"

Rafe and EJ looked at one another and shrugged, doing as Sami asked.

"Now sing," she ordered them.

"Sing?" repeated EJ in consternation, "Sweetheart I don't think…"

"SING EJ!" yelled Sami, in no mood for any discussion on the matter.

EJ and Rafe looked at one another again.

"Do you know Ave Maria?" asked EJ with a sigh.

"What, because I'm Latino I must know Ave Maria?" asked Rafe with some ire.

"I'll take that as a no shall I?" asked EJ wryly.

"What about something from the Dixie Chicks?" suggested Rafe.

"No," said EJ with a shake of his head, "I'm not familiar with their body of work. What about anything from Gilbert and Sullivan?"

"I was never a fan," mused Rafe thoughtfully, "All that rhyming freaks me out."

"WOULD YOU TWO PICK A FREAKIN' SONG BEFORE I KILL YOU BOTH WITH MY BARE HANDS!!!"

EJ and Rafe started as Sami screamed at them and they turned around to see her flushed face and shooting death looks at both of them.

"Ahh…" said EJ a little taken aback.

"NOW!!!!!" she hollered, stamping her foot at them and instantly regretting the action as her bladder screeched its protest at her.

**~//~**

Rocco and Jonah looked up from where they were playing cards just down the end of the hallway to the door that led to the cells that they'd just added two more prisoners to.

"What's that?" asked Jonah, looking up from his hand and tilting his head to one side.

"I think it's Britney Spears 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'," said Rocco thoughtfully, listening intently.

"I tell ya man," said Jonah with a shake of his head and going back to his cards, "Just when you think this job couldn't get any weirder."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter SIX**

"So let's recap then," said EJ, trying to get his emotions under control and sort this all out in his head.

After having relieved herself and getting the men to stop singing Sami had taken a seat on the cot that she'd dragged over to be beside EJ's and they were both sitting down, side by side, with the bars between them. EJ had ordered Sami to put her feet up as well so her back was against the wall, legs stretched out in front of her and he'd put his pillow under Sami's legs to elevate them and help with the swelling. Sami hadn't been kidding, her ankles had blown up hugely but it was hardly surprising considering she only had three weeks to go and today hadn't exactly been a relaxing one for her. EJ sat on his bed, cross legged, a position long since impossible for Sami these days and was facing her.

"We make love and I get kidnapped that night," said EJ, listing things off on his fingers, "The fake EJ is inserted into my life the same night which rather annoyingly no one seems able to tell apart from the bone fide item; that is me. You and Lucas don't work it out but then either do you and the imposter EJ it seems."

"No," said Sami looking a little sad about that.

"Fake EJ moves on with Nicole whilst Lucas moves on with Chloe," continued on EJ.

"He and Chloe are getting married," offered up Sami.

"Really?" asked EJ in surprise, "That was fast, is Chloe pregnant too?"

"No," snapped Sami, "And you should talk, you're marrying Nicole…"

Sami stopped herself then realizing she'd forgotten again as EJ arched an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"Thank you," said EJ flatly, "So at some point in all this my father wakes up and is out for revenge."

"Yeah," Sami sighed, rubbing her stomach as she felt the baby stretch, "That was when he released the purple gas."

"And no one was hurt?" asked EJ in concern.

"Well I got a little confused and nearly broke your neck when I tripped you down the stairs," said Sami and gave him an apologetic look, "Sorry."

"Sweetheart try and focus," said EJ wryly, "Not me remember?"

"Oh right," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"So you were alright?" asked EJ worriedly, "There were no ill effects for you or the baby at the time?"

"Well I didn't realize I was pregnant just then but no," said Sami, "Thank god. I think it was because we were in the stairwell and out of the worst of the gas. And then of course I got a bit distracted when the kissing started."

"You kissed this guy?" asked EJ in horror and he could see by the suddenly guilty look on Sami's face that she'd forgotten it wasn't him again.

"Ah..." Sami made an apologetically sheepish face, "Purple gas?"

"You actually kissed this imposter and yet you still couldn't tell it wasn't me?" asked EJ in annoyance and definite jealousy.

"I'd just been purple gassed by your insane father," said Sami defensively, "I wasn't in my right mind!"

"I don't care how out of it I was I would still be able to tell your kisses Samantha," said EJ, sounding quite hurt now, "And I suppose you and Lucas exchanged more than just a handshake when you said your goodbyes to him as well."

EJ just hated the thought of Sami kissing these other men when he'd been helpless to do anything about it, stuck in here all this time.

"Look man, if it will make you feel better I'll let you kiss me just to even things up," said Rafe in exasperation, getting more than a little over their incessant bickering, "Just no tongues."

Both Sami and EJ just glared at Rafe and his attempt at humor and went straight back to fighting, barely missing a beat.

"You can't make me feel guilty about that!" exclaimed Sami, feeling very guilty about that, "We weren't together..."

"Apart from being married and having consummated that relationship of course," interjected EJ bitterly.

"We weren't married," Sami interrupted him now, "You keep saying that but we aren't married now EJ."

"What?" asked EJ, drawing back in amazement, "What are you talking about Samantha?!"

"We got a divorce," said Sami with a frown, getting confused again with what dealings she had with the real EJ and the pseudo one.

"The hell we did!" raged EJ, standing up and stalking over to the bars that separated us and glaring down at her, "Well that should have been your first clue that it wasn't me you were dealing with sweetheart if I ever agreed to a divorce from you!"

"You had no choice after the stunt you pulled with the immigration stuff!" said Sami in annoyance.

"The Nicole thing was simply to get you to wake up to your feelings for me," said EJ dismissively.

"What Nicole thing?" asked Sami, pulling back and looking at him in outrage.

EJ's eyes narrowed as he realized they weren't talking about the same thing here.

"Wait, what immigration thing?" asked EJ suspiciously.

"Are you telling me you did things with that tramp just to make me jealous?" asked Sami in horror, "Are you out of your mind?! How could you think that would work EJ?!"

"Oh I don't know," said EJ bitingly, "Maybe because we ended up in bed together because of it!"

"You faked the whole thing EJ!" said Sami accusingly.

"I most certainly did not," said EJ indignantly, "I can promise you Samantha that there was nothing fake going on in that bed with either one of us!"

"Oh god," groaned Rafe as World War III raged on between the two and there didn't seem to be the likelihood of a ceasefire any time soon.

He got up then and pressed his face to the bars at the front of the cell he was in.

"Hey!" he yelled out at the top of his lungs, hoping their captors would hear him, "If you're expecting me to put up with this I'm going to need alcohol and a lot of it! This is cruel and unusual punishment to be expected to put up with these two sober! If I can't have some booze then at least have the common courtesy to puncture my ear drums!"

"Shut up Rafe!" ordered Sami and EJ in unison before returning to their fighting.

"So exactly how far did it get with you and that woman who is dressed by 'Whore's R Us'?!" growled Sami.

She thought then, trying to get everything straight in her head.

"Like the steam room?" she said challengingly, "What went on then?"

"Well how hard exactly did you try and convince Lucas to give it another shot?" asked EJ just as bitterly, still deeply wounded that she'd done that.

"I didn't have sex with him if that is what you are asking," huffed Sami.

"Well I didn't have sex with Nicole," said EJ simply, "So why don't we leave it there and you explain to me what you meant by the immigration thing eh sweetheart?"

"You set it all up," grumbled Sami, not completely happy at his solution but going along with

it anyway.

"No I didn't," said EJ with a frown.

"You said you did," said Sami, taken aback.

"My double said I did," EJ reminded her yet again, "As far as I was aware it was all very real."

"But why would he make me think it was fake?" asked Sami in confusion.

"Because he or Stefano knew it would make you throw him out that EJ on his ass and that is what they wanted obviously," volunteered Rafe, leaning against the bars now as he continued to listen in.

"He's right," nodded EJ thoughtfully, "Obviously you were too much of a liability for either the imposter or my father to have around. You know me too well and it would have become obvious to you that it wasn't me any longer so they had to get you out of the picture."

EJ looked at her quizzically then.

"Did you move out of the house not long after I was taken?" he asked her curiously.

"Ah… I did," said Sami as the pieces fell slowly into place for her as well, "You… I mean he signed the divorce papers and I moved out almost straight away."

"And then this Nicole person was suddenly in EJ's orbit which I don't think was a coincidence," commented Rafe, "I'd say Stefano had a hand in all this."

"Or Andre," interjected EJ with a slight frown as he tried to work out the time line a bit better, "Let's think about this. My father started putting all of this in motion when I first turned against him. It would have taken time to get someone to look like me and when my father became hospitalized Andre simply took over and bought his plans to fruition and now they are working together again."

"So who do you think it is that they've got to impersonate you?" asked Sami curiously.

"I have absolutely no idea," said EJ, pursing his lips, "Just like I have no idea if he is in on my father and Andre with this or is as much a victim as we are."

"How do you mean?" asked Rafe with a frown.

"Stefano and his crony Rolf like tinkering with brains," said Sami flatly, "It wouldn't be the first time that he's taken someone and wiped their memories and put in new ones. That could explain why they needed me gone when you think about it. If this guy didn't exactly volunteer for the job then Stefano would want to maintain his control over him in any way possible. I mean he lost control over John and all hell broke loose remember? So he moves in a woman who can be bought for a bottle of booze and who has her own agenda to keep an eye on him."

"So do you think Nicole knows?" asked EJ, scratching his chin thoughtfully.

"Well she was here!" snapped Sami unhappily, "She must be in on the whole thing but I don't think fake EJ must be otherwise why would she be so desperate to give him a baby? If he knew what was going on they'd just try and get a baby together… right?"

"It's all speculation at this point," interjected Rafe, "Our most pressing problem at the moment is finding a way out of here if you ask me."

"Actually I'm just going to take a moment to continue catching up if that is alright with you Rafe?" said EJ coolly, "I have been out of the loop somewhat and would like to know what has been going on in my absence."

He took a seat again and looked at Sami.

"Now where were we?" he said with a little frown, "Oh yes, you'd just moved out of the mansion…"

"And you were getting it on with the queen of the cooties before the ink had even dried on our divorce papers," said Sami darkly.

"A couple of things are wrong with that statement Samantha," said EJ calmly, "Yet again let me remind me that it wasn't me doing anything with Nicole and secondly wasn't it you who was running off after Lucas begging for forgiveness?"

"You two keep having the same conversation over and over again," Rafe observed, "Has anyone ever told you how _really_ annoying that is?"

"Now if I only gave a toss about what you thought then we'd be all set now wouldn't we?" said EJ sweetly, looking over at the other man, "_Still_ trying to have a private conversation with my wife here if you don't mind."

"_Still_ in a cell here," returned Rafe defiantly, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"So we're still married then?" said Sami slowly, all of this information slowly clicking into place.

"Of course we are," said EJ roundly, "It's the only thing that has been keeping me sane all this time Samantha, the thought of you being my wife and the hope of returning to a life with you and the children."

"It's not that easy EJ," said Sami quietly, looking upset now.

"When has anything between us ever been easy?" he smiled indulgently at her, "Come on, let's finish the story so far shall we? You've moved out of the mansion and then sometime later my father wakes up and what… gasses the hospital to exact his revenge and you end up kissing some other man in a basement, is that right Samantha?"

EJ didn't even try and keep the note of censure out of his voice as he recounted the events as he understood them so far.

"Yes," she frowned at his tone.

"So what exactly happened?" EJ quizzed her, intent on finding out everything now.

"We kissed and said some things to one another," hedged Sami.

"Things like what?" asked EJ curiously.

"I said something along the lines that anything was possible and you said we couldn't go any further, that it wouldn't be right," shrugged Sami and looked away quickly to hide her pain from him, "And then I think you went straight back to Nicole and asked her to forgive you."

"And again this didn't ring any warning bells at all?!" asked EJ incredulously, sitting back on his cot, "Samantha for over two years all I've wanted is for you to give us a chance and when you finally do I go off with some other woman! How does that sound like me?! What history have we ever shared that would suggest to you that I'd give up when I was that close to having all that I dreamed of with you?! And don't for the love of god say 'purple gas'!"

"You changed EJ!" said Sami defensively.

"No I didn't!" said EJ in exasperation, "My feelings for you have been as steadfast as they always have. I don't know how else to say this but _that… wasn't… me_!"

"I know that _now_," said Sami, looking put out, "At the time all I saw was you rejecting me EJ and then I found out Nicole was pregnant just a couple of days after finding out I was and it all just went to hell from there! Don't think that these last eight months have been exactly a walk in the park for me either you know!"

"I'm sorry sweetheart," said EJ quickly, putting a soothing hand on Sami's arm as he saw her getting progressively upset, "I'm just frustrated by it all and I don't mean to take it out on you. I'm sorry, really."

Sami looked slightly mollified by his apology so EJ continued on.

"Okay then," he said, trying to calm things down, "Fake EJ and Nicole are together, you witness the mayor's murder and end up in witness protection with Rafe here and then my father finds out about the baby you are carrying and intervenes to get his hands on the child to give to Nicole and his new 'son'. Have I missed anything?"

"That's about the sum of it," nodded Sami and gave a heavy sigh as it all seemed a little hopeless to her in that moment.

"Great we're all caught up!" said Rafe with fake enthusiasm, "Do you think now that we can give some thought as to how we might get out of here? I don't think any of us want Sami to give birth in this place now do we? So let's save the hallmark moments for a time when we don't have more pressing things to worry about hm?"

"You know you're not really endearing yourself to me Rafe," said EJ a little caustically, not liking his familiarity with Sami.

"Well I guess I'll be crying myself to sleep on my cot over that," said Rafe sarcastically.

"Stop it you two," said Sami with a frown.

"He started it!" they said in unison and Sami rolled her eyes at them both.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"So are you comfortable sweetheart?" asked EJ softly.

"I'm eight months pregnant EJ," said Sami wryly, "I'm not going to be comfortable again until this baby makes an appearance."

They'd all settled down for the night and Rafe was on his cot in his cell, his back to them and sounding like he was already asleep. Sami and EJ though found that they couldn't sleep, there was still too much to catch up on. They were both stretched out on their cots, lying on their sides facing one another through the bars.

"Can I feel your belly?" asked EJ quietly, the look of longing on his face causing a lump to come to Sami's throat.

"Yes," she said unevenly.

EJ reached a hand through the bars and instead of just placing his hand over her clothes and on Sami's protruding stomach he pushed her blouse up so that it could rest on her bare skin. Sami gave a little shudder at the feeling of his oddly intimate touch. She watched his face which was full of awestruck wonder as he moved his hand back and forth across her burgeoning stomach. Suddenly the baby gave a powerful kick and EJ's face lit up with delight.

"The baby kicked me!" he said excitedly and then pushed back gently on the area of Sami's stomach that the baby had just kicked and was rewarded with another one.

EJ gave a happy laugh at that.

"Strong little blighter," he grinned and Sami had to smile at his excitement as he looked at her intently then, "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?"

"No," said Sami with a shake of her head, "With being in witness protection all this time I haven't exactly been doing the whole regular doctor check up thing."

"But everything is alright isn't it?" scowled EJ unhappily, clearly not liking the thought of that.

"I feel good and the baby moves a lot," said Sami reassuringly, "This has been my most trouble free pregnancy yet actually. Barely any morning sickness and I've felt good throughout it."

"I'm so sorry that you've had to go through all this alone Samantha," said EJ sincerely, his hand rubbing her stomach now, "If I'd known then nothing would have kept me from your side."

"Not even Betty and Veronica?" she asked with a half smile.

"Absolutely not," said EJ firmly but then had to smile a little as well, "Sweetheart I'd crawl over broken glass to get to you and our children."

Sami's heart swelled to hear that and new hope flared deep inside her that it might not be too late after all for them. It was all so confusing but bottom line was that the real EJ hadn't moved on with Nicole at all, hadn't fathered a child with her and was now looking at her with quiet adoration like he used to. It felt like forever since she'd seen that light in his eyes when he looked at her and Sami realised that the fake EJ, for all that he might look like EJ, could never make her feel like he did. EJ suddenly swallowed hard, his eyes looking suspiciously bright all of a sudden.

"How are the twins?" he asked her achingly, his voice raw, "I've missed them so much Samantha, you have no idea."

"I do a bit," said Sami, tears coming to her eyes, "I haven't held them for two months and I feel like I'm dying inside. I can't imagine how horrible it must be for you EJ."

"Tell me about them," he begged her, "Tell me everything you can think of. I've missed so much Samantha and it has killed me imagining them growing up without me."

"They're both so big now," said Sami shakily, smiling through her twins, "Ali is a right little miss, bossing her brother around but when the mood takes him Johnny pushes right back. They are both getting very good at walking now and they know so many words you wouldn't believe it. Ali is a big talker but Johnny can be so loud when he wants to be. They both have such distinct personalities now."

"Where are they now with you in witness protection?" asked EJ with a little frown.

"Ali went to be with Lucas and Johnny with..." Sami trailed off, biting her lip.

"The imposter," said EJ grimly, "Our son is with two strangers Samantha."

"I know," said Sami, frustrated tears welling up in her eyes at that thought, "It was bad enough that Johnny was going to be anywhere near that witch Nicole but at least I thought you'd be there to take care of him."

"What is this man like with Johnny?" asked EJ in concern.

"He's good," admitted Sami reluctantly, "Johnny trusts him and they get on well together."

"I suppose I should be happy that my son has bonded with this man and isn't upset," said EJ quietly, "And I am but..."

"But you're his father and you want to be his father," Sami finished off for him, understanding his pain as two other women were playing the role of mother in her twin's lives.

"Yes," said EJ roughly and then gave her a brave smile, "Tell me more Samantha, please. I need to hear as much as you can tell me about their lives."

Sami wracked her brain then and tried to think of all the things that had happened with the twins since May so she could tell EJ. It was a very cathartic thing actually, talking about the twins and sharing memories and they spoke of it for a long time into the night and Sami could feel herself becoming less anxious about everything knowing that EJ was by her side now.

"The twins are going to have so much fun with this new little one," said EJ with an indulgent smile when Sami finally ran out of stories to tell him, "Do you have a preference for a boy or a girl sweetheart?"

"I don't mind," sighed Sami, her hand going to her stomach that EJ had been stroking the whole time, as though he couldn't get enough of touching her and their unborn child, "As long as they are healthy but I suppose a girl would be good, keep things even."

"A girl," smiled EJ happily at the thought, "I'd love to have two daughters but I'm the same, as long as the baby and you are healthy I will be ecstatic."

Sami didn't bother to correct him about Ali not actually being his daughter like she would have done before. It seemed incredibly churlish of her now to do so when it was clear that EJ adored her just as much as Johnny. It had seemed so terribly important to her at the time to keep some kind of distance between Ali and EJ seeing as Lucas was her real father but it seemed incredibly stupid now. How could she have begrudged her daughter EJ's love she wondered in despair. All of a sudden she was seeing everything so much more clearly now and Sami was just so glad to have her daughter loved by this man.

"You're a good father EJ," said Sami quietly, "The twins and this new baby are lucky to have you."

"I'm the lucky one Samantha," said EJ with great emotion, "I didn't know it was possible to love this way until those little ones came into my life and I can never thank you enough for the gift that they are to me."

"To us EJ," she corrected him softly.

EJ tilted his head then and regarded Sami intently.

"Is there an us Samantha?" he asked her and to her amazement she actually heard a nervous waver in his voice.

"Do you want there to be?" she asked him hesitantly.

"Samantha that is all I've ever wanted," said EJ, sounding incredibly heartfelt.

"I thought you didn't want me anymore, that you didn't love me," she said shakily, again her memories of what she'd shared with the real EJ and the imposter blurring the lines for her.

"Samantha I think I was born loving you," said EJ achingly and it made Sami's breath hitch to hear the great emotion in his voice, "And I know I'll love you with my last breath on this earth."

"Oh EJ," said Sami, tears beginning to streak down her face at his softly spoken but heartfelt words.

"Samantha you are the one for me, the one and only," he told her urgently, "I could never dream of loving another the way I love you. You stole my heart at our first meeting and that was it. I know I've made a lot of mistakes and I have so much regret about so many things that happened between us but I could never regret or stop loving you. It is simply more than I am capable of. I know I keep saying these things to you and you tell me that you don't want to hear it but I can't help myself Samantha. It's how I feel and those feelings aren't going away with time, in fact they are only getting stronger."

"What are you saying EJ?" she asked him shakily, unable to believe that he could still feel this way about her after all that had happened.

"I'm saying that loving you has been the only thing that has kept me sane these lasts months," said EJ fiercely, "The dream of having a life with you and our children was the thing that stopped me sinking into a pit of despair. All I want to do is be with you and love you Samantha and I know that there are a hundred reasons that you can tell me that it will never happen but Samantha you're having another child with me. We are in each other's lives forever and I don't want to be on the outside looking in of that life. I want you to know that I will never give up on hoping for a future for us; that no matter what happens I will always be there for you and the twins and this baby, trying to be the man deserving of your love. It is the only thing that is important to me."

"Yes," said Sami shakily, overwhelmed by the words she'd thought she'd never hear again from EJ's lips.

"Yes?" repeated EJ in confusion, "What does that mean Samantha?"

"It means yes I want you in my life too," she said, her heart beating wildly as she finally confessed everything to him, "It means yes I want us to raise these children together and it means yes that I love you EJ."

EJ's eyes widened at that and he unconsciously tightened his grip on her stomach.

"You... you love me Samantha?" he asked, sounding utterly shocked, "But how... when...?"

"Because of the man you've become," she said simply, "Because of the way you love me and our children and how you make me feel. Because I've realised now that I can't live without you and I'm sick of pretending that I can. I love you EJ and I want to be with you. We've both made a lot of mistakes but all this time apart has given me time to think and I realised that I had to take a lot of the blame for the things that happened between us. Neither of us is perfect EJ but... but..."

"But what?" asked EJ and it sounded as though he was holding his breath.

"But I think that when we are together we are who we really are meant to be," she said, putting a shaking hand to his face through the bars as they still lay on their sides, "You make me feel like the most amazing woman in the world and you are the only man who has ever loved me so unwaveringly no matter what I did to you. You've proved your love for me a hundred times over and now I'm just asking if you'd give me the chance to do the same for you. I love you and want to build a life with you and our children EJ. I've never felt about anyone in my life the way I feel about you."

"Samantha!" said EJ delightedly and cupped her face, moving in to kiss her through the bars.

"This is just how I imagined it," said Sami with a choked little laugh around her joyful tears when he finally broke the heated kiss.

"Me too," grinned EJ and his cheeks were wet as well and not all from Sami's tears either, "Sweetheart we are going to have the most amazing life together. I swear to you that you will never regret loving me, ever!"

"I know," said Sami softly and felt his absolute peace settle on her now that she'd finally said all that was in her heart, "I know."

**~//~**

EJ lay awake for a long time after Sami's steady breathing told him that she'd fallen asleep at long last. He couldn't believe how much his life had changed in the twenty four hours since he'd last lain on his cot thinking. EJ turned his head and looked at the woman sleeping beside him and couldn't help himself from reaching out a hand and resting it on her stomach again. The woman he loved was sleeping beside him, pregnant with their child. It was like a miracle to EJ and the need to protect Sami and get her and their unborn child out of this nightmare was a driving need inside of him that wouldn't let him sleep.

She'd told him that she loved him and EJ couldn't help the excited tattoo that his heart immediately started pounding out at that memory. When she'd said those words to him and then spoke of wanting a future with him his heart had practically burst out of his chest. It was every dream he'd ever had to have Sami look at him like that and declare her love for him. He watched her lovely face relaxed in sleep in the dim light and knew that all that he'd gone through to gain Sami's love had been worth it. It was a jewel beyond price to know that Sami loved him and it gave EJ a new strength and hope to know that he had that love.

"I'm going to get us out of here Samantha," he vowed to her softly, even as she slept, "There is nothing I wouldn't do to keep you and our children safe and I'm going to get you home to them, I promise you."

EJ settled himself more comfortably on the cot that was hopelessly too small for a man of his size but didn't even notice, all of his attention riveted on Sami… just like it had always been from the moment he'd met her.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

It was the next morning and the occupants of the cells were stirring to face a new day.

"How did you sleep sweetheart?" asked EJ solicitously as he watched Sami slowly stand up from her cot.

"Terribly," grumbled Sami, putting a hand to her back and stretching.

This late in the pregnancy it was hard for her to get comfortable and being on a hard cot didn't exactly help.

"Here," offered EJ, "Let me."

He indicated that she should come over to the bars and Sami did as he requested, walking over to him.

"Turn around," he instructed her and Sami complied, sighing happily as EJ then began to massage her neck and shoulders through the bars for her.

"Nice," she murmured, closing her eyes and leaning back against the bars.

"My back is sore too," pouted Rafe as he watched the couple, his teasing covering up the pang he felt watching them.

He'd listened to them quietly talking to one another for half the night, not being able to hear what they were saying but it was a strangely intimate sound in the cold, dark cells. He'd grown fond of Sami despite how relentlessly annoying she could be at times but Rafe hadn't realized how fond until he'd seen the way she'd been looking at EJ. She'd told him so many mixed messages about how alternatively great and awful this man was and it was only more confusing now seeing as half the stories were about a different man altogether as it turned out.

What wasn't confusing though was the way the other man was looking at Sami, with clear adoration on his face and he was certain that they kept forgetting he was there, so wrapped up in each other regardless of whether they were being loving with one another or fighting. Rafe hadn't known a love like that before in his life and as hopelessly complicated and messy that it seemed to him even as an outsider looking in he couldn't help but feel like he'd missed out on something special because of it.

"Build a bridge," said EJ unconcernedly to the other man.

"Sorry?" frowned Rafe, his musing having taken him out of the moment briefly and forgetting his last comment.

"He means get over it," smiled Sami, translating for Rafe's benefit.

"Cute," said Rafe dryly but further discussion on the matter was stalled when Betty and Veronica put in an appearance, both carrying food trays.

"Oh concierge," said Rafe straight faced as Betty shoved a tray of less than appetizing food through the slot in the bars at him, "I don't want to be a bother but the maid didn't turn down my bed last night and the thing on my pillow which I thought was a chocolate mint was actually a spider."

"Oh goody," said Betty flatly, "Another wisenheimer, my joy is complete."

"Don't mind Betty," said EJ as he took other food tray the large man shoved through his cell slot, "He's not a morning person…"

EJ pursed his lips thoughtfully then.

"Or an afternoon or evening person really," he mused, "But I'm thinking there are about three minutes between 2:18am and 2:21am that his sparkling personality really comes through and he just shines."

"You just don't learn do you?" asked Betty in annoyance, glaring at EJ.

"Hard to imagine with such a patient teacher as you," said EJ mockingly.

"Here," said Veronica, ignoring the usual carry on between EJ and the other man as he pushed Sami's tray of food through the slot.

Sami moved to take it and frowned as she looked at the tray practically groaning with all the food on it. There were various fruits, orange juice, toast with scrambled eggs and bacon as well as some delicious looking pastries. It was a far cry from what the two men had been given whose meals could only be described with one word – grey.

"What is this?" she frowned, looking between her lavish meal and the men's which was more on the side of being slop, "I'm not eating this unless EJ and Rafe get the same."

"Well if they manage to get themselves pregnant with a DiMera baby then I'll be happy to do just that," said Veronica mockingly, "Until that happens though they get what they are given."

"Well I'm not eating this then," said Sami, reiterating her protest and jutting her jaw out stubbornly at the other man.

"Samantha it's alright," EJ reassured her, "You've got our baby to consider. You need to eat, not only for you but for our child that you are carrying."

"But…" Sami went to protest, clearly not happy about this at all.

"Please sweetheart," said EJ softly, "You need to do this. Just eat. If not for your sake then the baby's."

Sami wrinkled her nose, obviously feeling the need to argue some more but their two guards were already leaving, seemingly considering the matter settled.

"And on that note," EJ called out after the two men, "We are going to be requiring a better bed for Samantha tonight. She can't sleep on that cot for any longer, it simply isn't acceptable."

"What do you think this is?" asked Betty in annoyance, "The Hilton?"

"No," said EJ shortly, "This is Stefano DiMera's grandchild and I'm guessing that you are under instructions to do what it takes to make sure that mother and child are looked after properly. I know my father, this new baby would mean everything to him and I don't think he'll appreciate finding out that you caused the woman carrying his grandchild any undue stress."

Betty and Veronica exchanged glances, obviously seeing the validity in EJ's words but then kept walking.

"So tuck in Samantha," said EJ, indicating her food.

"You don't think it's drugged do you?" she asked nervously.

"My father wouldn't risk anything happening to the next DiMera heir," said EJ confidently, "I'm sure its fine sweetheart."

Sami pulled another face then.

"Don't you believe me Samantha?" asked EJ with a little frown.

"It's not that," she said, her voice strained as she looked at both the men, "I've got to use the bathroom again.

**~//~**

"You know now that we are looking after three people instead of one we should get more money," observed Jonas thoughtfully as they settled in for another long boring day of being wardens.

"Good idea," said Rocco mockingly, "Why don't you go and ask the old man about it?"

"Maybe I will!" said Jonas defiantly but then stopped when he heard singing again, "What's that?"

"Sounds like ABBA's 'Dancing Queen'," noted Rocco calmly as he poured himself a cup of coffee, "I've got all their albums."

Jonas gave his partner an unimpressed look at that rather surprising piece of information.

"We deserve a _lot_ more money for this!" he noted emphatically.

**~//~**

Nicole looked up from where she was flipping through bridal magazines to see EJ walking in through the front door.

"You're up early," she noted, taking in his track suit and the way he was a little out of breath.

"Felt like a run this morning to clear out the old cobwebs," said EJ cheerily, walking over to her and kissing her hello as Nicole sat on the sofa.

"Ew," she said, wrinkling her nose, "Sweaty."

"Sorry darling," he grinned, walking over to the drinks tray and grabbing a bottle of water out.

"You seem better," said Nicole a little hesitantly, "How's the headache?"

"All gone," said EJ happily, "I couldn't feel better."

"Really?" asked Nicole a little skeptically, remembering how much pain he'd been in the night before, "You're just not saying that so I won't worry?"

"I promise you sweetheart," said EJ breezily as he walked back over to her and stole another kiss, "The only thing that is going on in my head is thoughts of how lucky I am to have you in my life and how excited I am about this new baby."

Nicole felt the familiar stab of guilt and sadness whenever EJ mentioned their baby but consoled herself with the fact that soon she'd be able to give EJ his baby for real. Nicole was so grateful that Stefano had come through for her with regards to that. She'd been terrified about what he would do to her when he'd somehow managed to find out about her miscarriage. He'd surprisingly understood though and had even promised to help her find another baby. Nicole had been a bit taken aback that Stefano had encouraged her not to say anything to EJ about the loss of their baby but as it was her first instinct anyway she'd been glad of the support.

Her initial distress at hearing Sami was pregnant had been turned into joy when Stefano had informed her that the she would be raising the child and not Sami. It felt right to Nicole somehow that she should have Sami's baby seeing as the evil shrew was intending on keeping the child from its father anyway. Nicole would have done anything to have been able to carry her baby to term and share her with EJ but Sami obviously didn't care at all about that. Nicole was confident that she would make a far better mother than Sami Brady ever could and she was going to prove it with this baby. Fate had given her a second chance and she was going to take it with both hands and hang on tightly to this baby and EJ and never let go.

"I'm excited too EJ," Nicole smiled up at him, "You have no idea how much I want this."

"I think I might," said EJ looking at her lovingly, "It's as much as I do."

He looked down at his clothes then and grimaced.

"I think a shower is called for," he commented and then sent her a devilish look, "Care to join me Ms Walker, there is room for two you know?"

"I don't want to get my hair wet," Nicole hedged and EJ gave a dramatic sigh.

"Still playing hard to get I see," he said teasingly, "I'll wear you down yet, you wait and see darling."

Nicole gave him a bright smile at that which instantly dropped from her face as soon as he was gone.

"Not likely," said Nicole under her breath and put her hand on her fake stomach, wiggling it around a bit.

"So my son seems in high spirits today," said Stefano, suddenly appearing from the kitchen with Rolf bringing up the rear.

"Yes," said Nicole with a bit of a frown.

"But that is good no?" asked Stefano, "Why the long face my dear?"

"I'm worried," said Nicole and then lowered her voice, "About… you know, the baby."

"All mothers to be are anxious," said Stefano with an indulgent smile, "But trust me Nicole, you will have your baby to hold in your arms safe and sound soon enough."

Nicole felt a sense of relief at Stefano's words. The man always spoke with such great authority it was hard not to believe him. Everyone had warned her about Stefano and what he was capable of but so far all he'd been to Nicole was kind and supportive. She knew he had a bad side but Nicole was smart enough to make sure that she never got on the wrong side of it. Besides the two of them had secrets now and it did neither of them any good to turn on the other.

"I just wanted to thank you Stefano," said Nicole, standing up then, "I know we've had our differences in the past…"

"And there they will stay," said Stefano dismissively, "We must look to the future you and I Nicole and to all the possibilities that it might hold."

"Yeah," smiled Nicole, picturing herself and EJ as husband and wife, their new baby between them, "You're right and that is exactly what I am going to do."

The two older men watched Nicole leave then and Stefano turned to see Rolf giving him a censuring look.

"What is it now Rolf?" sighed Stefano, used to Rolf's endless worrying.

"You have a lot of ze ballz up in ze air Stefano," said Rolf disapprovingly, "Nicole knows about Zamantha and the baby but not about this version of Elvis, you have the real Elvis locked away and probably figuring all zis out az we speak and zen you have zis Elvis who is oblivious to it all! Zis iz very complicated and could blow up in our facez very eazily."

"You worry too much," said Stefano with a roll of his eyes, "All is going to plan. Andre has everything well in hand."

"And zat's another problem," said Rolf in agitation, "You do realize zat man is a zociopath don't you?!"

"I prefer to think of him as incredibly goal oriented," said Stefano with a little smile.

"He cannot be trusted Stefano," fretted Rolf, "He iz more unstable zen zis Elvis!"

"You worry too much," said Stefano dismissively.

"And you don't vorry enough," returned Rolf roundly, "I have a bad feeling about all zis."

"You say that every time Rolf," said Stefano casually.

"Ya and every time I am right!" he said a little indignantly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"Turn it to your left a little," instructed Sami, "No, your other left."

Betty and Veronica turned to Sami and gave her both singularly unimpressed looks.

"I'm just trying to help," said Sami hotly.

"Help by shutting the hell up," growled Betty.

"You watch your mouth when you speak to Samantha!" said EJ sharply, glaring at the man.

"Or what?" sneered Betty, "You'll pronounce tomatoes as to-mah-toes on my ass Brit boy?"

"So how is that broken nose of yours?" asked EJ sweetly, "Still excruciatingly painful I hope."

"Hey lovebirds," grunted Veronica, "Enough with the foreplay already, this thing ain't gettin' any lighter here!"

Betty begrudgingly turned his attention back to the job in hand and hoisted the bed they were currently trying to get into Samantha's cell up a little bit more. With a few more grunts and occasional curse they finally managed to get it through the narrow cell door. Sami meanwhile had been put in the adjacent cell much to EJ's disappointment who had been hoping that Sami might be put in his cell, however briefly. He just wanted to put his arms around her again without the feeling of the bars between them. Story of their lives really, there always seemed to be something separating them.

It had taken a couple of days for it to come to fruition but EJ looked on with satisfaction as Sami finally had a proper bed to lie on. The large single bed was well made and would be guaranteed to be a lot more comfortable than the tiny sagging cot she had been in before that. EJ was hoping that he'd be able to get Sami out of here very soon but in the meantime at least she was going to be more comfortable which was very important to him. It had just been so amazing to EJ these last couple of days just being with Sami, despite their somewhat dire circumstances. Being able to reach out and touch her, put his hand on her stomach and feel their child moving underneath his hand. It was bittersweet for EJ, making him sad about how much he'd missed out on with this pregnancy but incredibly joyful that he was here now.

"Come on," said Veronica, wiping the sweat from his brow and addressing Betty, "Let's get the mattress and be done with it. Ellen will be on soon."

"Yeah?" asked Rafe casually, who had been watching the goings on as he leant casually against the bars of his cell, "Who's on?"

"Mr Mind Your Own God Damn Business," said Veronica curtly, obviously not pleased at having to do all this heavy lifting and not in the mood for chatting.

"Oh I think that's a repeat," said Rafe straight faced, "He was on last week. He wasn't too bad but they really can't dance. I mean, who does 'The Robot' these days anyway?"

"Why can't we drug them like the other guy?" asked Betty in annoyance, "It's so much easier."

"Other guy?" asked EJ, suddenly very interested, "What other guy?"

"Shut up you moronic land mass," said Veronica sharply, "We don't say nothin' about nothin' remember?!"

"Yeah, yeah," scowled the other man, clearly unhappy about being bawled out in front of the prisoners.

The two of them left to get the mattress then, leaving the others to discuss this new development.

"So someone else is being kept here," said Sami thoughtfully, "I wonder who?"

"And why they'd have to be drugged?" pondered Rafe before looking at EJ, "Do you have any ideas?"

"None," said EJ slowly, clearly thinking about it, "I mean, I suppose it could be my shadow in need of a tune up but there are a lot of possibilities really, John Black, Steve Johnson to name but a few. They've all ended up on the less than happy side of my father at some point or other."

"Betty and Veronica will be back soon," said Sami, changing subject abruptly, "Are we going to make our move or what?"

"Sweetheart only you are out of your cell," pointed out EJ reasonably, "I don't think a heavily pregnant woman is really any match for two armed guards somehow."

"Would you stop referring to me as heavy?" scowled Sami unhappily, "I haven't gained that much weight during the pregnancy you know?!"

"Of course you haven't," said EJ quickly, realizing he'd put his foot in it, "I just meant that you were far along in your pregnancy. You look more beautiful now than I've ever seen you look before Samantha."

Sami gave a bit of a grunt at that, only slightly mollified.

"We have to come up with more of a plan," said Rafe decisively, "They kind of sprung this bed thing on us."

"Agreed," nodded EJ and then grimaced, "After eight months in this place I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to getting out of here. I haven't been able to manage it on my own but with the three of us there is a real chance for us to escape."

"We'd better," said Sami flatly, "Because I'm not having this child behind bars with Heckle and Jeckle looking on."

"I won't let that happened Samantha," EJ reassured her.

Sami gave EJ a brave smile at that but he could see that she was worried which made him more determined than ever to get them out of there. Just then Betty and Veronica were making their way back into the room, now with the mattress between them. The smaller man pushed on the mattress especially hard trying to get it through the door and caught Betty off guard. As he did that the mattress that had been caught in the door way came free suddenly and bounced up, catching the bigger man squarely in the face. Betty screamed as the mattress connected painfully with his slowly mending broken nose, cupping both hands to his face.

"You know this might be a bumpy ride," observed Rafe in amusement, "But you can't beat the in flight movie. It's a classic."

"Yup," agreed EJ with a grin, "No matter how many times I see it the thing simply never gets old."

Betty was now dancing around and holding his nose which had started to bleed by this stage, clearly in a lot of pain.

"Hey hey hey!" called out Sami with no sympathy whatsoever, "No blood on the mattress okay?!"

**~//~**

EJ rubbed the back of his necked tiredly. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so run down of late. He hadn't had a headache for a couple of days now which was a relief but he was finding himself bombarded by strange, incoherent dreams lately and it wasn't making for restful nights. EJ hadn't told anyone about the dreams, not wanting people to worry, especially Nicole. She was stressed enough as it was and he just kept putting that down to her advancing pregnancy and out of control hormones. It was probably just as well that she hadn't wanted to share a bed with him. At this rate they would have kept each other awake all night. The doorbell sounded and interrupted his musings.

"Hope," said EJ intently as he opened the door to find her standing there, "Do you have news? Have you found Sami?"

"No," said Hope with a regretful shake of her head, "But I thought I'd just drop by and tell you where we are up to with it all EJ."

"That's very thoughtful of you Hope," said EJ, stepping back so she could enter, "Please won't you come in?"

Twenty minutes later they were sitting on the sofa in the living room of the mansion and Hope had told EJ all that she knew, answering his questions the best she could.

"Thank god Johnny is too young to know what is going on," sighed EJ sadly, "I have no idea of what I'd say to him."

"I know it's hard EJ but we really are doing everything we can," said Hope quietly.

"I know you are," said EJ with a sad little smile.

They both stood up then and EJ turned to face her.

"Thank you for coming around to let me know personally Hope," he said sincerely, "I know there has always been… reservations shall we say… about my role in Samantha's life but you have to know I care very deeply what happens to her as the mother of my son."

"I know EJ," said Hope and gave him a little smile, "I can see that and that is why I came. I promise you, no one is giving up on Sami."

"I'm very glad to hear that," said EJ and felt again that reassuring calm that Hope seemed to bring him.

On impulse he bent down and hugged her and EJ felt her stiffen momentarily before returning the gesture. There was something so utterly familiar to EJ in that moment as he held Hope in his arms and a strange, confused feeling washed over him as he felt Hope's body against his own. He drew back a little and looked down at her uncertainly, wondering if she felt it too. It surprised EJ that he'd never taken much notice before of how truly beautiful Hope was and now for some reason he was having trouble looking away from her. She was looking up at him compassionately and EJ had this sudden, almost uncontrollable urge to kiss her and was shocked at the intensity of his desire to do just that.

"EJ?"

The sound of Nicole's voice to the left of him broke EJ out of the spell he'd found himself under and he blinked rapidly a couple of times trying to clear his suddenly foggy mind. He let his arms drop from around Hope and they both stepped back from each other as EJ turned to address his fiancé who was standing in the doorway from the foyer with his father beside him.

"Hello sweetheart," he said and was horrified to hear how uneven his voice sounded and quickly corrected it to continue on smoothly, "How was your nap?"

"Fine," said Nicole shortly, looking between the two of them suspiciously, "Has there been news about Sami? Is that why you are here Hope?"

"I was just giving EJ an update," said Hope smoothly, turning to face Nicole and Stefano as well.

"You have found something?" asked Stefano with interest.

"No," said Hope tightly.

"Well in that case can you save your visits for when you've got something more interesting than nothing to tell us?" asked Nicole sarcastically, clearly jealous of the little scene she'd just walked in on, "Or better still why not send your _husband_ hm Hope?"

"Nicole don't be so rude!" said EJ tersely, scowling at her, "Hope is a guest in our house and was simply being kind in keeping us informed about Samantha's case. There is no need to attack her."

Nicole bit her lip, obviously taken aback by the fierceness of EJ's defense of the other woman against her. EJ turned and looked at Hope then.

"I'll show you out Hope," said EJ calmly, "Please forgive Nicole's behavior, she gets easily overwrought nowadays."

Nicole's frowned deepened as EJ apologized for her as it seemed to her that she had nothing to apologize for. EJ meanwhile was leading Hope to the door.

"I am sorry about Nicole," EJ repeated his apology once it was just Hope and himself again at the door, "It was very kind of you to come personally Hope, it means a great deal to me."

"Of course EJ," said Hope with a little smile and then gave him a vaguely concerned look, "You know I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into with that one. Nicole Walker isn't exactly the easiest woman in the world you know EJ?"

"I seem to have a taste for complicated bad girls," said EJ with a half smile and couldn't stop himself from suddenly wondering what life with a woman like Hope might be like instead.

"That you do," said Hope with a little laugh, "Well, I'll leave you to it then EJ. I'll be in contact I promise."

"Thank you Hope," said EJ as the woman turned to leave.

Despite his better judgment EJ stood there and watched her leave, seemingly suddenly to be able to move until Hope had gotten into her car and driven off and tried to sort through the chaos of emotions he was currently feeling.

**~//~**

"What the hell was that?" asked Nicole in aggravation once she'd seen EJ head back upstairs after seeing Hope out, "I just got rid of Sami from EJ's life and now he's getting a thing for Hope? Do I have to do away with every Brady woman under the sun or what?!"

"Calm down Nicole," Stefano soothed her, "I was there too and I saw nothing more than two people comforting one another over the loss of someone they cared about. My son loves you, you must never doubt that."

"That would be a little easier if he wasn't feeling up some other woman right there in my living room!" grumbled Nicole, still clearly unhappy about this turn of events.

"Why don't you do some more planning for the wedding eh?" asked Stefano mildly, "I will talk to my son and I'm sure he will tell me that there is nothing to worry about."

"I know what a man who has eyes for someone else looks like," said Nicole tightly, "It's pretty much been the story of my life so far."

"You are worrying over nothing I promise you Nicole," Stefano reassured her, "I know my son and I know how much he loves you. Do not the insecurities of your past cast a shadow over your future Nicole. All is well between you and EJ is it not? Does he not dote on you endlessly eh?"

"Only because he thinks I'm carrying his child," said Nicole emotionally, putting a hand on her fake pregnancy stomach.

"It is much more than that," said Stefano dismissively, "And besides, it will not be long until you will be able to place Elvis' child into his arms and his joy will be complete and your role in his life as the mother of his child will be cemented. Is this not what you have wanted for so long now Nicole?"

"Of course it is," said Nicole quickly, "But there was something weird going on between EJ and Hope, I just know it."

"I will deal with the matter," said Stefano confidently, "You must not worry yourself about it Nicole. I tell you that you are worrying over nothing."

Nicole looked a little less than convinced by Stefano's assurances but took herself upstairs anyway. As soon as she was gone Rolf appeared from the kitchen looking very worried.

"Zis iz terrible newz Stefano!" he fretted, "Did you zee zose two? Ze fake Elvis iz remembering zings and it vill only be a matter of time before it all comes back to him. I varned you that zis could happen! Ze brainvashing is not holding when put under zis much pressure!"

"Then we'll just make it hold," said Stefano determinedly, "I will ensure that Detective Brady stays well clear of this Elvis so that there will be no more shared moments between the two and you will do a little tweaking of your own."

"I'll get my bag," sighed Rolf despondently as Stefano once again imposed his indomitable will, "But zis time can we get him in ze car first before I drug him? I don't zink I can lift zat man one more time zis week. All zis drugging and dragging iz a younger man's game."

**~//~**

"Hey there!" called out Sami, "Betty! Veronica! A little help?!"

"What is it?" grumbled Veronica as the two men opened the door at the end of the row of cells and walked down the passage way between the cells to Sami's.

"I need the bed moved," said Sami, indicating the new bed she'd just been given, "It has to point the other way."

"And why is that princess?" asked Veronica, crossing his arms in front of his chest and looking at her in an unimpressed fashion.

"I have face to the window," said Sami defiantly.

"It's a thing of hers," agreed EJ with a nod, "I'd do it myself but I can't reach the bed where you've put it."

The two men looked up at the small, barred window in the wall of her cell that only showed grey skies at the moment.

"Learn to live with disappointment," advised Veronica flatly and started to move away.

"Fine!" huffed Sami, "I'll do it myself then!"

The two men exchanged annoyed looks but didn't look back until Sami suddenly cried out.

"Oh my god!" she shrieked.

"Samantha what is it?" asked EJ urgently, coming to the bars in an attempt to get closer to where she was doubled over in pain.

"Sami what's wrong?" asked Rafe, joining in on the concern, "I told you that you couldn't move that big bed by yourself!"

"What is it drama queen?" asked Veronica in exasperation as the two guards walked back to where Sami was bent over.

Sami looked up at them with a distressed face from where she'd been trying to move the bed.

"My water just broke," she gasped, wide eyed.

Betty and Veronica looked down at the tell tale puddle of water on the ground and the wet patch on the front of Sami's skirt.

"Uh oh," said Betty looking a little nauseated, "I did not sign up for _this_!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Samantha just remain calm and remember your breathing sweetheart," said EJ urgently, trying to calm her down.

"Don't tell me to remain calm EJ!" she yelled at him, "I'm about to give birth to our baby in a filthy cell! I don't want to calm down!"

"Nobody is givin' birth to nothin'," said Veronica sharply and pointed an accusing finger at Sami, "You! Keep your legs together alright till we can get a doctor here!"

"It doesn't work like that," shouted Sami and then doubled over again, clutching her stomach.

"You're not breathing!" chimed in Rafe, trying to help, "Long slow breaths remember?!"

"Shut the hell up all of you!" yelled Sami when she could speak again, "None of you have ever given birth before so stop telling me what to do!"

"Will you stop screaming?" asked Betty in annoyance.

"I'm about to push something the size of a bowling ball out the size of a fifty cent piece," gritted Sami, her face flushed, "I'll scream all the god damn amount I want hippo boy!"

"Look," said Veronica urgently as Sami became more and more worked up, "Dr Rolf is in the building somewhere; I'll just go and get him."

"I am not letting that butcher anywhere near me!" exclaimed Sami in horror, "I'd rather have my baby delivered by Norman Bates than him ooohhhh!"

Sami doubled over again, her face screwing up painfully.

"I need to walk," she panted after the last contraction seemed to have passed.

"Do it in your cell," said Betty.

"Her cell is practically all bed," scowled EJ, "Just let Samantha walk up and down the aisle will you?!"

The two men exchanged looks but then obviously decided that in her present condition Sami was no real threat. Betty unlocked Sami's cell and she walked out, starting to pace up and down the walkway between the cells, her hand on her lower back, breathing heavily.

"I'm going to go and get Rolf," said Veronica, looking at Sami's flushed face nervously, "You stay here."

"Why don't I go and get crazy doctor and _you_ stay here?" asked Betty unhappily, not liking the look of Sami either.

"I'm faster," said Veronica and started towards the door before Betty could argue.

"Sweetheart do you need anything?" asked EJ solicitously as stood as close to Sami as the bars would allow.

"An epidural would be great," said Sami sarcastically, "But I guess that isn't in the cards so I'll have water instead."

EJ looked expectantly at Betty than.

"Well," he prompted him, "You heard the lady, she'd like a glass of water. I don't think that is too much to ask under the circumstances do you?"

Betty grunted at that but moved off to get Sami her water, returning surprisingly quickly and handing her the glass which she took gratefully and gulped down.

"I hope you know how much trouble you're going to be in if anything happens to this baby," said Rafe with a note of censure in his voice, "If you and your idiot friend out there let anything happen to Sami or her child than your lives will be over."

"I don't need you to tell me how it is cop," growled Betty, "I… uggh."

Betty made a muffled cry as Sami smashed her now empty glass against the side of his face as hard as she could. The big man staggered back, clutching at his much battered nose and making a muffled sound of pain. His back hit the bars behind him and immediately EJ's arms came out and wrapped around Betty's neck, locking tightly around him and squeezing with all his might. Betty began to thrash about but EJ gritted his teeth and determinedly hung on. Sami meanwhile had made a grab for the keys hanging off his belt and was in the process of unlocking Rafe.

While EJ was still holding Betty in a headlock against the cell bars Rafe moved in and hit him in his unprotected stomach with all his strength. Betty grunted and a rush of air left his lungs, telling Rafe that he'd winded him. Meanwhile Sami was moving to quickly unlock EJ's cells now so that they were all free. While Betty was bent over, trying to catch his breath EJ quickly exited his cell and the two men faced off against him, knowing they'd need both of them to take him down properly. Just then though Veronica returned.

"I couldn't find him…" he trailed off at the sight of all his prisoners being free and his partner on his knees, "What the hell?!"

He went to go for his gun but Rafe who was standing closest to the other man made a mad dash towards him, tackling the guard to the ground before he could draw his weapon. By this stage Betty was regaining his sense and standing up. Without Rafe for back up EJ did what he could, throwing himself of Betty's back and wrapping his arms around his neck again. His many encounters with him before this told EJ that Betty found his back particularly hard to get to or defend because of his size. All he had to do was hold on for long enough until Betty blacked out from lack of oxygen. Betty however wasn't going down without a fight. He made a guttural noise and ran backwards into the brick wall at the end of the passage way. Sami grimaced as EJ made a pained, breathy noise as he was crushed between literally a rock and a hard place.

"You're doing it wrong!" she exclaimed anxiously to him, watching as Betty ground EJ into the wall even as he was starting to go blue from lack of oxygen.

"Duly noted sweetheart," grunted EJ out through clenched teeth.

EJ wasn't sure if his ribs were going to be caved in by this man before he ran out of oxygen and Sami clearly had the same concerns. While Betty's attention was on crushing EJ by leaning back hard on him against the wall Sami took advantage. She stood directly in front of Betty and released a killer kick to his groin. Betty made a high pitched squeak before dropping to his knees and falling heavily to his side with his legs up to his chest, rocking back and forward. EJ was still on his back and managed to disentangle himself just in time so that he wasn't caught under Betty now. He staggered to his feet and looked down at Sami's handiwork and at the tears streaming down the other man's face.

"That was a bit harsh Samantha," EJ grimaced, feeling a certain amount of empathy for the other man despite himself.

"Hey do you want the job done pretty or do you want it done right?" asked Sami flatly, "He was killing you EJ! I had to do something."

"I had it in hand," said EJ, sounding a little miffed by the implication of anything to the contrary.

"If by in hand you meant being squished into a pancake than sure yeah," said Sami wryly, putting her hand on her stomach and rubbing it absently, "When this baby does finally decide to put in an appearance for real I don't want his or her father to be a stain on a wall!"

"Nice touch by the way," grinned EJ, "With throwing the water on yourself to look like your waters had broken."

"Thanks," smiled Sami, "It just came to me on a whim."

"I'm fine," panted Rafe, turning up behind them both, "No really, you don't need to help any."

Sami and EJ looked past him to see Veronica unconscious on the floor with Rafe only looking slightly worse for wear getting him like that.

"Goodo," said EJ cheerfully and turned back to Betty who was struggling to get up, "I don't think so sweetheart."

EJ leant down and punched Betty very hard in the face, knocking him unconscious.

"Wow," said Sami, sounding a little surprised as she looked at their now unconscious guards, "That plan actually worked. Who would have guessed it?"

"We're not home yet," said EJ grimly and looked at Rafe, "Come on."

"The two men easily moved Veronica into EJ's cell but it was a bit more of a job to get Betty behind bars.

"Oh brother," grunted Rafe as he and EJ attempted to drag Betty into the cell, "This guy must have his own tidal system!"

"Just put your back into it," puffed EJ doing just that, "We don't know who else is here and if these two will be missed anytime soon."

"Dios mío this guy is a hernia waiting to happen," complained Rafe between gritted teeth as they eventually managed to roll Betty into the cell with Veronica.

EJ locked the cell door behind them and gave a little grim smile of satisfaction at the act seeing as they'd locked him in the very same cell countless times. The three of them then ran down the corridor, EJ in front seeing as he had some little experience of the layout of the place, Sami protectively in the middle and Rafe bringing up the rear.

"Do you know where you are going?" asked Rafe in agitation.

"Well there was the weekly fire drills where we all had to practice exiting the building in a timely fashion to conform with workplace health and safety laws," said EJ sarcastically as he led them down the twisting corridors, "But we haven't had one for a little while now so I might be a little rusty."

"I can see why Betty in particular became such a big fan of yours," said Rafe mockingly.

"Can we cut the witty banter down to a minimum and just concentrate on getting the hell out of here?!" puffed Sami in exasperation, not really in any state for all of this running, "I can hardly breathe here!"

EJ looked round to see Sami somehow managing to look both flushed and pale.

"Here," he said quickly, grabbing her hand and leading her into a door that he'd just found was open.

The three of them walked into the room after EJ checked that no one was in it and looked around the dimly lit area. Rafe found a light switch and turned it on. Immediately light flooded the room and showed it to be full of all manner of electrical and medical looking instrumentation but that was in no way the most interesting feature of the room.

"Look!" gasped Sami pointing to what the other men had already noticed.

The three of them walked over to the examination table with the man strapped to it and looked down in varying degrees of wonder. The imposter EJ lay there, soundly asleep or more likely, drugged into unconsciousness with several electrodes attached to his forehead.

"_This_ is the guy that they've got impersonating me?!" asked EJ incredulously, "But he looks nothing like me!"

Sami and Rafe looked at each other silently, then at the man on the table, then at EJ and then back at the man on the table before looking back at EJ steadily.

"He doesn't!" protested EJ at their wordless dispute of his claim, "Look at that hair! I wouldn't be caught dead with hair that long! He looks like a total fop… or a woman!"

Sami's brow wrinkled then as she took in EJ's current much shorter hair do.

"How come your hair isn't that long or longer even then his?" she asked him curiously, "What did they bring a barber into the cell to do your hair or something?"

"I just cut it myself," said EJ dismissively, "It became too annoying hanging all over my face."

Sami looked at the stylishly disheveled hair do that EJ was currently sporting and her lips twisted in disgust.

"You just hack at your hair with a pair of blunt scissors and you look like you belong in a fashion magazine and meanwhile I pay seventy bucks to still have uneven ends!" she said in annoyance.

"You know it really is amazing," said Rafe who had been scrutinizing fake EJ carefully as Sami and EJ discussed grooming tips.

He was bent right over fake EJ and kept looking back and forth between him and the real McCoy.

"You could easily be identical twins," marveled Rafe, "The likeness is uncanny."

"Oh please," snorted EJ in disgust, "That man looks nothing like me."

"What's the matter DiMera?" asked Rafe mockingly, "Don't like the thought of not being quite as unique as you first thought?"

"Come on EJ," said Sami with an arched eyebrow, "You have to admit, he does look a lot like you. I mean, of course this guy was going to fool people."

"People yes," said EJ, sounding upset, "You no. I can't believe didn't know it was me Samantha."

"EJ your own mother couldn't tell you two apart," said Sami in exasperation at EJ's ongoing assertion that the similarity wasn't that great between the two of them.

"I'd like to dispute that statement," said EJ huffily, "I'm sure my mother would be able to with no problem what so ever."

"Well I say the only way to prove that is if we manage to get out of here alive and you can get your dear old mom to settle the question," said Rafe wryly.

"I wonder who he is?" said Sami softly, looking down at the man with some compassion, "This must have been awful for him."

"Being me is awful?" asked EJ with a scowl, "How so Samantha?"

"Oh man you're bruising like a peach today," said Rafe in exasperation to EJ, "Look we'll have time for hurt feelings some other time. Right now we need to focus and get out of here."

"Agreed," nodded EJ and after taking one last look at his doppelganger headed towards the door, "This way."

Several minutes later EJ had actually navigated them out of the building he'd been kept in for eight months now. Truth be told it was a little more good luck than good management but the others didn't need to know that EJ decided.

"A car," said Sami, sounding relieved at the thought of no more running and pointing to several vehicles parked by a large wire gate.

"Come on," said EJ, taking Sami's arm again and moving her quickly over to it, "I think the backseat might be safest for you sweetheart and don't forget to buckle up."

"What I'm too fat to fit in the front seat now?" asked Sami with a scowl.

"Still on the run from the bad guys you two!" Rafe reminded them in exasperation as now Sami took offence easily, "I swear, you guys have the attention spans of gnats!"

"Nobody asked your opinion Rafe," said EJ curtly, "And Samantha you're a vision of loveliness but could you please be that vision in the backseat of the car sweetheart?"

"Fine," grumbled Sami and got into the backseat as EJ held the door open for her, slamming it shut once she was inside.

"Does she ever do anything you ask her to the first time?" asked Rafe in exasperation.

"Not yet but I'm living in hope on that front," said EJ wryly, "I'll drive."

"I don't think so," said Rafe quickly, "FBI agent remember?"

"Professional racing car driver remember?" returned EJ just as quickly, "I think in this circumstance I out rank you Special Agent."

"Well would _someone_ drive please!" said Sami urgently, "Because we've got company. "Look!"

Rafe and EJ looked over their shoulders to see both Betty and Veronica immerging from the building with Stefano, Rolf and Andre right behind them.

"Bollocks," EJ grimaced and then with no further discussion leapt into the driver's seat and began to fumble around under the dash intent on hot wiring the car.

"Whatever you're doing I recommend you doing it faster man!" said Rafe, his eyes on the men in the distance as they closed in on them.

"Got it," grunted EJ as the car roared into life.

"EJ," said Sami nervously as the men got closer and she could see that their guns were drawn, "They're coming."

"I've got an idea," said Rafe ironically, feigning casualness, "Why don't you put the car in gear and drive really, really fast EJ?"

"There's the tax payers money at work for you right there," said EJ sarcastically, gunning the motor and doing just that, roaring down the driveway, out of the enclosure and along the little road that lead through the thickly forested area.

Sami screamed as some bullets dinged off the car as they shot at the speeding car.

"Get down!" EJ ordered her sharply, briefly looking in the rear vision mirror to see that she was alright before turning his attention back to the winding road and putting the gas pedal to the floor.

**~//~**

"Stop shooting you idiots!" ordered Stefano angrily, "You could hurt my grandchild! Go after them, get them back, NOW!"

Betty and Veronica nodded their heads and jumped into a nearby car, speeding off after the escapees.

"Come!" ordered Stefano fiercely to Andre, "We will follow as well!"

"Do you think that is wise Uncle?" asked Andre a little uncertainly but Stefano was already getting into the car.

Andre gave a shrug then.

"I guess that is a yes," he said with a twist of his lips and got into the driver's seat, the two men racing off after the other two cars and leaving Rolf standing there in the middle of the clearing by himself.

"Vell I'll wait here shall I?" he asked no one in particular and sounding a little miffed, "No I don't mind really, zanks for asking zo, it's zo nice to be thought of in zese zings."

**~//~**

"Get closer," ordered Stefano as they kept getting flashes of the two lead cars through the heavily wooded forest as the road twisted and turned.

"I'm trying," said Andre through gritted teeth, "But this car is very low to the ground and not exactly suited to this kind of terrain you know."

"Less excuse making and more speed," said Stefano tersely and sent Andre an aggravated look, "How could you let this happen eh? Do you know what is riding in that car, well do you?! The future of the DiMera empire! If it gets out what we have done then everything will be lost!"

"Don't worry Stefano," said Andre as they rounded another particularly sharp bend and the car slide out a little, "They aren't getting far in that little car. See, we've already all but caught them up!"

Andre pointed triumphantly up ahead to where Betty and Veronica had closed the distance between the escaping prisoners and their car.

"Looks like Elvis isn't quite the racing car driver he thought he was," said Andre with a smirk.

Just then as though to mark Andre's words the car suddenly reappeared from the latest bend in the road and began to spin out of control, hurtling off the road and into the thick forest. It had barely gotten fifty feet before it hit a tree, the impact splitting the trunk along with a nauseating sound of twisting metal and shattering glass before the whole thing suddenly burst into a huge fireball. Andre slammed on the breaks as both men in the car put a hand up to shield their eyes from the blaze of igniting petrol. Stefano threw open the door and stumbled out in horror, his eyes on the fiery scene. The four men were now all out of their cars and staring in shock at the horrific inferno that no one had a chance of escaping, the occupants of the car most certainly consumed in the deadly fire.

"No," Stefano whispered in disbelief, "No… my son… my grandchild… NO!"


	11. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Whatever you're doing I recommend you doing it faster man!" said Rafe, his eyes on the men in the distance as they closed in on them.

"Got it," grunted EJ as the car roared into life.

"EJ," said Sami nervously as the men got closer and she could see that their guns were drawn, "They're coming."

"I've got an idea," said Rafe ironically, feigning casualness, "Why don't you put the car in gear and drive really, really fast EJ?"

"There's the tax payers money at work for you right there," said EJ sarcastically, gunning the motor and doing just that, roaring down the driveway, out of the enclosure and along the little road that lead through the thickly forested area.

Sami screamed as some bullets dinged off the car as they shot at the speeding car.

"Get down!" EJ ordered her sharply, briefly looking in the rear vision mirror to see that she was alright before turning his attention back to the winding road and putting the gas pedal to the floor.

All of his experience with his international racing career held him in good stead for maneuvering along the uneven and winding dirt tracks but nonetheless the cars bearing down on them were making up the distance between them thanks to their much more powerful engines. EJ's skill in driving kept them ahead of the game but not by much.

"I've got another idea!" said Rafe, looking behind them at the rapidly gaining car, "Can you get a little distance between them and us EJ?"

"It will only be temporary," EJ warned him, concentrating fiercely on his driving as he swerved all over the road trying to shake off their pursuers, "This thing has the pickup of a sewing machine!"

"I just need you to buy me a little time," said Rafe urgently, "So I can do this."

He suddenly dived between EJ's legs, head first.

"What the hell are you doing?!" asked EJ in surprise, momentarily taking his attention off the road to see what Rafe was doing with his head stuck between his legs.

"Yeah!" Sami seconded the question unhappily as Rafe's face disappeared into EJ's nether regions, "Rafe!"

"I'm going to rig it to blow," his muffled voice informed them from between EJ's legs as the other man tried to clutch, brake and change gears around him in annoyance.

"Who are you blowing?!" asked Sami, leaning forward and looking in concern at Rafe as he continued to practically bury his head between EJ's legs.

"The car."

"Oh," said Sami, slightly mollified.

"Put your head down Samantha," EJ ordered her as he gritted his teeth, keeping the car under tight control as it slid across the dirt track before he could get it going in a forward motion again.

"But we're in the car!" exclaimed Sami, ignoring EJ as Rafe's plan sunk in.

"I'm rather thinking the plan is that we won't be at the time of the explosion," said EJ grimly, most of his attention directed to his driving and the cars in hot pursuit behind them, "Samantha – head!"

Just as he said that more shots whizzed past the car, one taking out EJ's side mirror. He jerked the wheel to one side to avoid being in the firing line, jostling his passengers in the process.

"Rafe – head!" he complained to the man still between his legs as Rafe was thrown against him.

"Stop driving like a maniac and there will be less chance of my head ending up where the sun don't shine," complained Rafe, his voice still muffled by his current position, "I'm guessing neither of us want that!"

"Tell you what Special Agent," said EJ, still managing to be sarcastic while driving at the top speed the car could do, "Why don't we pull over by the road and you can do what you have to do eh? I'm sure the men with guns currently chasing us down will understand completely and wait for you."

"I don't want to die listening to you two bicker!" groaned Sami, clutching her stomach and half lying on the backseat, her head down as instructed by EJ.

"No one is going to die," the men reassured her in unison.

Rafe made a triumphant sound then.

"Got it!" he declared, scrambling back upright again, "All we've got to do now and put as much distance between them and us as you can EJ so we can get out of the car without them seeing us."

"And then the car will explode?" asked Sami.

Rafe and EJ exchanged looks then which made Sami immediately nervous.

"You and Rafe will sweetheart," said EJ as he and Rafe silently came to an agreement, man to man, "I'm going to draw them away and then just drive the car into a tree."

"That's an insane plan!" exclaimed Sami in horror, "There is no way I'm letting you do that EJ! You'll be killed!"

"I'll jump out just before the explosion," he told her, holding her stricken gaze for a split second in the rear view mirror, "Then I'll just rejoin you two when the coast is clear."

"No EJ NO!" said Sami, shaking her head at him and holding on tightly to her stomach, "Please don't do this, think of Johnny, think of this baby – they need you, I need you!"

"I can do it," offered up Rafe, seeing Sami's distress, "I'm nobody's father."

"No," said Sami, very upset now, "I don't want either of you to do it! Come up with another plan!"

"We don't have time sweetheart," said EJ grimly as he wrestled the car back under control, skilful driving having put the other cars out of sight, "And we don't have time to switch drivers either. I'm doing this and there is nothing else to say."

Sami had plenty to say but EJ was already pulling over and Rafe was grabbing her arm, practically dragging her out of the car.

"Good luck man," he told EJ quickly.

"Protect her, no matter what," EJ begged him quickly as they left the car.

"No matter what," Rafe promised him grimly.

"EJ!" said Sami, her voice catching in a sob.

"I love you Samantha," he told her fiercely and then before she could answer him he was roaring off and Rafe was dragging her into the bushes, out of view of the cars that very quickly passed them by, already almost caught up with already.

**~//~**

"He should be back by now," fretted Sami, pacing back and forth anxiously.

They had felt and heard the force of the explosion nearly fifteen minutes ago now and the cars that had been pursuing them had come back down the track that they'd chased EJ down but there was still no sign of the other man.

"He'll be here," Rafe tried to keep Sami calm even though he'd planned on only giving the other man another ten minutes before he made good on his promise and got Sami to a more safe location, "He's English, they don't have a great sense of direction."

"I'll have you know I have a superb sense of direction," said EJ flatly, suddenly appearing from behind some bushes.

"EJ!" Sami exclaimed in delight.

Sami launched herself at EJ and hugged him tightly, unable to stop herself from crying now. Her extremely pregnant state making her highly emotional nowadays and Sami wasn't in any state to hold anything back right then.

"I'm alright Samantha," he reassured her softly, hugging her to him.

Sami pulled back from him a little bit, caught between mind altering relief and utter frustration.

"If you ever, _ever_ do something that reckless and stupid again I will kill you myself you gigantic idiot!" she declared hitting his arm in annoyance for scaring her like that before promptly throwing herself back into his arms and sobbing, "I love you so much EJ!"

"Boy," said Rafe watching Sami's give full vent to her mercurial moods, "And I thought what we just had was a wild ride."

"Pregnancy hormones," smiled EJ, just ecstatic to have Sami in his arms again in any kind of mood, "Natures way of keeping men on their toes."

"Stop talking about me as though I'm not here," grumbled Sami, her voice muffled as she continued to cling to EJ, her face buried in his chest, "I hate that and I'm not hormonal, you two are just idiots."

The two men grinned at that, exchanging looks above Sami's head but didn't argue the point.

**~//~**

"My feet hurt," grumbled Sami as they walked along, intent on putting some distance between themselves and where they had been held prisoner.

"I'm sorry sweetheart but seeing as we needed to create a diversion to make good our escape walking is the only recourse left open to us," said EJ, taking Sami's arm and helping her over the uneven ground.

"Nice driving by the way EJ," commented Rafe, who was keeping an eye out for anyone who might be following them, "I suppose all those years of being a racing car driver made you good at crashing into things."

"So it would seem," said EJ with a twist of his lips at the other mans dig, "I'm guessing FBI training doesn't really equip you for such things eh old boy?"

"They tend to teach you how not to crash a car and send it up in a fireball that is visible from space," said Rafe straight faced, "They're funny like that."

"Well it was just as well I was on hand to save the day then wasn't it?" said EJ with a little smirk, finding a ready replacement in Rafe for his needling of Betty and Veronica.

"I was the one who rigged it so it would blow," said Rafe with a scowl at the implication that it was all EJ's doing.

"Stop it the both of you," snapped Sami, her current discomfort making it very easy for her to lose her patience with this constant backing and forthing between the two men, "You're both idiots for coming up with such a crazy, dangerous plan in the first place okay?!"

"A crazy, dangerous plan that worked," said EJ smugly, obviously very pleased with himself.

"So now what?" asked Sami, throwing him a dirty look, "We just keep walking?"

"For the moment," nodded Rafe and they all looked up as a plane flew overhead then, "So where do you think we are exactly?"

The two men then launched into a very complicated conversation about the answer to that question based on the plane flying overhead and the number of cities that particular company flew to and the time of day it was. Sami listened to them, her mind boggling as they continued back and forth.

"Well it's after two," calculated EJ thoughtfully, "I know there is a flight from New York that heads out to Houston at that time and the plane was flying north west…"

"But that's assuming it left from New York," argued Rafe as they tried to work backwards and factor in all the variables.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," said Sami with a roll of her eyes.

"Please darling," said EJ, "This is complicated, Rafe and I are trying to work out where we are exactly."

"How about less than an hour's drive from Salem?" asked Sami sarcastically, "Seeing as they obviously regularly bring EJ the second here for regular tune ups and there would be questions if he kept disappearing for days on end. Plus Stefano and Nicole were probably regular visitors to the place they were keeping us so logically it can't be far from Salem."

The two men exchanged sheepish looks as they realized that Sami's simply hypothesis was most likely the correct one.

"Men!" said Sami in disgust as she walked along, "Why do they have to overcomplicate everything they touch?!"

EJ opened his mouth, about to defend his sex's reputation on that front when they rounded a corner and they all saw the same thing at once.

"A house!" declared Sami excitedly, picking up her pace.

"Wait!" said EJ quickly, grabbing her arm, a little more cautious about what or who might be in that house.

"I'll go and check it out," said Rafe, "You two stay here."

They both nodded and then Rafe was making his way carefully up to the little house. EJ put a protective arm around Sami and kept them both out of sight until Rafe returned.

"It's some kind of ranger's hut," he informed them, "It's deserted but there looks like there are supplies and best of all, a radio."

"Is there water?" asked Sami hopefully, so thirsty right then she could hardly think straight.

"You betcha," nodded Rafe and then they were all heading towards the ranger's hut.

"Sit down sweetheart," EJ instructed Sami when they were inside and she gratefully complied, "I'll get you your water."

EJ found the supplies and quickly poured Sami a glass of water which she drank quickly and he refilled her glass for her. Rafe meanwhile had been fiddling with the two way radio and the thing hissed into life. He gave them both a pleased look.

"I'm going to get word to the bureau about what has happened," he informed them.

"Wait," said EJ and Sami in unison and then looked at each other.

"Why don't you want me to call for help?" asked Rafe in consternation, looking from one to another, "What were you planning on doing instead if you don't mind me asking?"

Sami and EJ exchanged a long look before turning back to address Rafe as one.

"Revenge."


End file.
